Scorched Skies (37 page)

“Wait.” Charlie held up a hand in surprise. “We can use the
Cloak
and the
Peripatos
?”

“Only with an emerald. And an emerald is thought to be intoxicating. It is thought that it can breed addiction to the magic.” Jack frowned. “The Guilds have banned casual use of the emerald. You need permission to access one and permission is only granted from Guild leaders under dire circumstances.”

Charlie tried to squash down the voice inside him that whined,
‘
I want an emerald.
’

“Obsidian is useful. The different kinds do different things.” Jack held up a necklace with an attractive black pendant. “Black obsidian. Can literally create blackouts if you need a quick escape. Or the opposite… it can steal light into it.”

“Cool, like the Deluminator.”

Jack looked at him blankly.

Charlie grinned. “Harry Potter.”

“Who
’
s that?”

Disbelief shot through Charlie. Surely everyone in the free world knew who Harry Potter was? “The wizard.”

“A sorcerer?”

Charlie choked. “He
’
s a fictional character. A fictional character that everyone knows.”

“Clearly not everyone.” Jack sighed and turned back to the stones. He pointed to the green and blue obsidian. He explained that green obsidian could be used to pull on anything with a natural hand in the earth
—
plants, trees etc. An extremely powerful sorcerer could even use the power of green obsidian to split the ground and use rocks and sand and dirt as weapons. Blue obsidian was a water stone. But blue and green obsidian together were healing stones.

“So every stone can do something different?” Charlie asked in awe.

“Yes.” Jack nodded. “You have a lot to learn. Like sixteen years of training worth to be packed into a few days. You sure you
’
re up for that.”

Charlie nodded. “I
’
m sure.”

“OK.” Jack gestured to Charlie
’
s hand where the copper piece still sat. “Conjure something small from your room.”

“My room here or in Ohio?”

“Has to be here. Copper won
’
t produce enough energy to power a conjuring from that far.”

Looking down at the piece of metal humming on his skin, Charlie felt his gut twist. This was it. No going back. “What do I do?”

“Concentrate on the metal, feel it become a part of you.”

“What
—
”

“Just do it.”

Concentrate on the metal,
Charlie sighed. Sounded like some New Age crap to him. Still… focusing in on the metal, Charlie let the hum vibrate right up his arm, felt the metal heat in his hand
—
imagined it as a part of his palm instead of just an object sitting on it. After a few seconds he felt inordinately warm and he could have sworn he could taste bitter metallic on his tongue.

“Do you taste it yet?” Jack grinned slowly at him.

Charlie
’
s eyes widened and he nodded mutely.

“Good. You
’
re there. Now, focus on a small object you have with you here. Imagine it in front of you. Tell yourself you want it in front of you. You need it.”

Thinking about his smartphone, Charlie glanced down at his other hand, imagining the phone there, wanting it there. Needing it
—
“Jesus Christ!” he jumped back at the heavy drop of technology in his hand and the smartphone crashed to the ground, the protector stopping the back from popping off. Staring down at the phone, Charlie
’
s heart pounded in his chest. This was so different from defensive magic. This was… this was…

His blood was running so fast and hot within him. So powerful and strong and capable. Charlie
’
s eyes glinted with the rush as he smiled wickedly up at Jack who gazed back at him with a mirror image expression. “That was cool.”

~22~

Needing What You
’
ve Never Had

The basement had this disused musty smell, light only spilled into it from four very shallow windows set just below the ceiling and shadowed objects protruded into the room with a creepy ambiguity that had always frightened Charlie as a kid. But now that he was older, he shut it all out. His sensory nerves were only aware of the thrill of the talismans and seals. He and Jack had barely broken for food and even then Jack had had to drag him out of the basement. Ari and Fallon had tried to talk to him at dinner but he couldn
’
t concentrate because all he could think about was the rush of energy surging through his veins. Food tasted bland and water couldn
’
t quench his thirst. For the first time he didn
’
t even feel that sense of melancholy longing when he looked into Ari
’
s eyes. No. All he could think about was the basement and the power it held. The power that could lead him to the Labartu. Jack had promised if Charlie managed to control the magic sufficiently enough to ease his worries about a young inexperienced sorcerer running around unleashed, that he
’
d use Guild resources to find the Labartu that had killed Mike for him. It really felt as if everything was coming together for Charlie
—
that there really was hope of revenge at the end of the tunnel.

“Very good,” Jack murmured watching Charlie channel water from the pipes through the obsidian rock.

Charlie held the blue obsidian in his hand, rubbing the stone as he flooded water into the sink across the room.

“Here.” Jack held up a black rope necklace with three metal disks dangling from it. Copper, silver and gold. He placed it around Charlie
’
s neck. “For you to keep.”

“Thanks.” Charlie touched the metal, feeling truly grateful towards his mentor. Jack was turning out to be a kind of father figure he
’
d never had and it had only been a week. Then again, that week was longer than any time Charlie
’
s own dad had spent with him. “I really appreciate this.”

“Not done.” Jack grinned. The older man had brightened up too. Others had remarked on the transformation that Charlie
’
s company had wrought on him and seemed grateful to the young sorcerer for pulling Jack out of his funk. Jack held up a masculine
—
yet still more garish than anything Charlie had worn
—
ring inset with both blue and green obsidian. “It
’
s yours too if you want it.”

Hands shaking a little, Charlie slid the chunky ring onto the middle finger of his left hand. Strangely it felt right there.

“What the hell is going on?”

At the sound of the familiar and unwanted voice, Charlie briefly closed his eyes before turning to face Jai. The Jinn looked huge standing at the bottom of the staircase, his face dark with contained anger as his eyes swept over the table before blasting into Jack and Charlie.

“Now, look, Jai.” Jack held up a warning hand. “I
’
m just doing what
’
s best for Charlie.”

“He
’
s just a kid,” Jai snapped, taking a forceful step towards them. “And one you barely know. What the hell do you or him know what
’
s best for him?”

Irritation flared through Charlie as it always did when Jai referred to him as a kid. He didn
’
t know if it was bred from some kind of competiveness for Ari or if Jai really saw him that way. He hoped not… because deep down… well, Charlie guessed he wanted Jai to respect him. “I
’
m not a damn kid,” he growled, taking a step towards to the guardian. Jai was only a couple of inches taller than him after all. He could take him. Charlie rubbed a finger over his new ring, amazed by how much more confident he felt with power at his fingertips.

Jai narrowed his eyes on the ring and guffawed, “Don
’
t even try it.” Then Charlie watched as the guardian
’
s gaze turned inwards and a sick feeling churned in his gut. Was Jai using telepathy? To contact… Ari
—

Fire burst into the room beside Jai and Ari stepped out of her beautiful golden flames, flames that seemed so much brighter than the flames of other Jinn Charlie had seen using the
Peripatos.
“What
’
s going on?” she asked softly, and Charlie hated the way she sidled up to Jai, her body pressing unconsciously close to his. Charlie shoved down the thought that the two of them looked right together. They weren
’
t right together, he shook his head inwardly. After all this, he was still determined to show Ari that he was the one for her, not Jai. He still had time. Charlie had to believe that. And right now that time was being wasted when he could be learning more about the talismans.

“Jack
’
s teaching Charlie to utilize talismans and seals and stones to power his magic.”

Her beautiful features tightened instantly, her eyes darkening as they dropped to the table, to Jack and then to Charlie. Her lashes lowered as she eyed the necklace he wore. Her body had completely tensed and Charlie could almost taste her fear. Guilt trickled into his conscience and he shifted uneasily. This wasn
’
t easy on her, he knew that.

But then, as if she literally shrugged the upset out of her, Ari
’
s limbs loosened and her expression smoothed out so that when she finally met his gaze there was nothing in her stunning eyes. A knot of apprehension formed in Charlie
’
s gut. That was the second time Ari had looked at him like that. Like she didn
’
t care anymore.

“Do what you want.” And with that one sentence she stepped back into the
Peripatos,
the flames engulfing her and hissing her departure just as Fallon hurtled down the staircase. She stared at Jai and then Charlie, her cute pixie face alight with excitement. Fallon was forever complaining about boredom.

“What? What did I miss?”

Looking just as confused as Charlie, Jai rubbed the back of his neck. “Apparently nothing.” He sighed and glanced over at Jack. “Make sure he
’
s alright.”

“I
’
m teaching him control,” Jack assured him.

With another heavy sigh, Jai turned and tread silently up the stairs. Charlie frowned at the guardian
’
s light-footedness. That
’
s how they didn
’
t hear him creep up on them.

Fallon stared after Jai with a look of bafflement on her face and then skipped down the last few steps, her short dark hair dancing up and down with her movement. She walked towards Charlie with a quiet sensuality that appealed to him. She was one of those girls that tried hard not to be girly but was innately graceful and feminine. She was the kind of girl Charlie would have been all over during his pre-Ari epiphany phase. Except… there was something about her that would have made it hard for Charlie to walk away. He liked her quick, smartass comments and her dry outlook on life. She didn
’
t take things too seriously like Ari did sometimes and she didn
’
t make Charlie feel bad about the whole sorcerer thing. It was also kind of nice that she hadn
’
t known Charlie before Mike. Always flirting with him and making him laugh, Fallon seemed to like who Charlie was now, and wasn
’
t always comparing him to who he had been before.