Scorched Skies (41 page)

The girl who had saved his life.

~24~

There are no excuses, only choices

He could have set fire to Mount Qaf with his rage, blazing a trail from one end of the never to the next. Instead Red let the fury turn cold within, the calm taking him to the one person who surely had the answer. 

Azazil stared back at him impassively, his long strong fingers tapping on the arm of his black marble throne. Today he wore no robes. Black silk trousers billowed around his legs, his feet bare. A gold torque inset with emeralds and rubies hung down across his collar bones. Matching armlets encircled each huge bicep and ruby earrings dangled from his ears. Azazil was in the mood to play Sultan today. “What exactly do you want of me?”

Ari would live. Red
’
s healer had saved her and being of royal Jinn blood, his niece was strong. Jai was recovering quickly from his own wounds but if Jai had taken the hit meant for him, Red didn
’
t believe the guardian would have survived the attack. Ari had saved the young man
’
s life. After receiving an earful from
‘
Ms. Maggie
’
whose own guilt at having been elsewhere during the fight fired her annoyance at Red, the Jinn King had left Ari to sleep off the rest of her injuries within the protection of The Roe Guild who had been cleared of any involvement. They were devastated that one of their own could have done this. The Hollis brothers were in shock that their sister had been approached by another Jinn behind their backs and enlisted to do such evil. Anabeth was still missing, but she had now become a target of her own Guild. The hunter he
’
d saved after promising Jai, had been returned to the main Guild in New Jersey, recovering nicely from his knife wound. Yes, everything had been patched up… except who had corrupted Anabeth in the first place.

“You must know who attacked Ari, Father?”

“I do.” Azazil shrugged, his eyes telling Red to back off.

And normally The Red King would listen to a silent command from his father but an overwhelming feeling had begun to take over him since he
’
d become involved in his niece
’
s plight, and it was becoming hard to stop it. “Who was it? Was it White?”

“If I said yes, what would you do? Would you rush out of here and beat him to a bloody pulp?”

Red shifted uncomfortably, not keen on the snide tone in Azazil
’
s voice.

“It wasn
’
t your brother.” Azazil waved him off, the jewels upon his fingers glittering in the obscenely blinding light of the grand hall. A familiar hum of energy pulsed at Red
’
s back as Azazil cocooned them in privacy. His father hated anyone inside his head and used telepathy very rarely. The Sultan
’
s gaze narrowed on his son. “It was Asmodeus. He beguiled the girl, Anabeth, and gave her the emerald. She has been dealt with for her incompetence and will not be found by her Guild.”

It was difficult to shock a Jinn King but that did. Red shook his head in confusion. “Why? Asmodeus, I mean.”

“My Lieutenant decided it would be fun to join the party. His words not mine.” Azazil
’
s jaw clenched with emotion before he wiped it out of existence. “Do not concern yourself, son. I have dealt with Asmodeus and I have received his promise not to interfere in these matters again.”

As far as Red was aware, Azazil never exacted a promise from Asmodeus. He cajoled or manipulated or just cleaned up his mess. Red was glad he had done so this time, however. Ari
’
s enemies were powerful enough without adding Asmodeus to the mix. “Thank you. That will certainly make my job easier.”

The light around them dimmed, almost as if a raincloud had blown over them. Azazil
’
s eyes narrowed and The Red King tried to hide his unease. “My question is… why did Asmodeus believe killing Jai would create such chaos for Ari?”

Because they love one another.

Red shrugged, the guilt clawing at his insides as he lied smoothly, “Jai is a powerful protector for Ari. Taking him out would have made the game easier for The White King and Dalí.”

Azazil grinned but it was a malicious, cutting knife of a smile. “You
’
re making this so much more intriguing, son.”

Red straightened his spine, waiting for his father to pass judgment on him for lying. His heart pounded hard in his chest for the first time in a long time.

The Sultan sighed and eased back on his throne, boredom replacing his feral expression. “You are not to tell anyone of Asmodeus
’
involvement. That is a command. Now… you may go.”

Not needing to be told twice, Red took measured steps into the
Peripatos
while his heart demanded he run.

Jai sat on
the opposite twin bed watching Ari sleep. She
’
d been in and out of consciousness for about thirty-six hours, but Red
’
s healer, a surprisingly young male Jinn, had worked wonders on him and Ari. He didn
’
t know about Ari but Jai felt almost 100% again. The Guild was packing up. He could hear the sounds of movement and the cadence of high and low voices rumbling through the walls as they prepared to leave for Ohio. Not surprisingly they were a subdued bunch right now, feeling uneasy and guilty over Anabeth
’
s betrayal. Jai didn
’
t blame them. He blamed the son-of-a-bitch whose betrayal came from Mount Qaf.

The fury that was tinged with panic burned through Jai and he dropped his gaze, glad that Fallon had finally managed to talk Charlie into leaving Ari
’
s bedside. Ari
’
s near death experience had really shaken the kid up. Jai could only hope it had shaken him up enough to get his head out of his ass along with all those talismans he had been obsessing over lately. Unable to keep from looking at Ari, from reassuring himself that she was alive, Jai glanced back up, relief tingling in his scalp when he saw how much color had returned to Ari
’
s cheeks.

She
’
d jumped in front of a Jinn version of a bazooka to save him.

Jai still couldn
’
t get his head around it.

How was he supposed to act when she woke up? What was he supposed to say?

The tremble of his cellphone in his lap jolted his gaze away from her and Jai answered the call, glad to hear a familiar voice. “Trey.”

“I just heard,” Trey replied quietly. “Is she going to be OK? Are you?”

“I
’
m fine,” Jai assured him, but hearing his closest friend
’
s voice broke something within him and he found himself whispering hoarsely, utter shock and confusion in the words, “She saved my life. She took the hit… and the last thing she did was use her gift to command that kid to leave me alone. Why did she do that?” he ducked his head in embarrassment as tears glittered in his eyes.

Trey was quiet a moment. “I think you already know, man. And I think you
’
re a complete dick if you don
’
t make the right choice.”

“Trey.” Jai shook his head, frustration burning the softer emotion away. “It
’
s not that simple.”

“It is that simple,” Trey spat down the phone and Jai almost jumped back in surprise at his vehemence. “
They
beat the shit out of you and
he
let it happen. For years. But
she
almost died to save you. There is a right and wrong choice here, Jai.”

“There
’
s too much going on.” Jai shook his head, glad to have a reason to postpone making any life-changing decisions. “We
’
re still hunting Dalí and Ari hasn
’
t even woken up y
—
”

A soft groan from Ari
’
s lips cut him off and Jai stood up, watching as she shifted in the bed, her head turning, her eyes opening in narrow slits until they widened at the sight of him standing over her. Her hair was in desperate need of a wash and her full mouth was creased from sleep. Although color had returned to her cheeks, there was still a slick glow about her skin that spoke of fever.  

She was the most beautiful thing Jai had ever seen.

“She just woke up,” he told Trey quietly.

Trey sighed in relief. “Tell her I asked for her. And remember what I said.” He hung up without saying goodbye. Jai had a feeling his friend, for the first time ever, was truly pissed off at him.

“Hey,” Jai said softly as Ari blinked up at him, confusion turning to remembrance.

Her eyes widened and she struggled to sit up. He leaned around her, his arms under hers, pulling her up gently into a sitting position. Ari grabbed his arm before he could take it back. “You
’
re OK?”

Jai smiled despite himself, bemused that that was her first question. “I
’
m OK.”

Ari gazed at
Jai like he was the first man she
’
d ever seen. Relief throbbed through her and she clutched tighter to his arm. She felt icky and disorientated but the pain she remembered was completely gone. What had happened? She was back with The Guild?

Her fingers slipped down his arm as Jai tried to gently remove it, the pads of her fingertips tingling as they brushed over his hand.
Don
’
t let go.
She almost pouted when he pulled back, his smile disappearing as wariness crept over his face. Ari blinked up in confusion, not understanding his look. “What happened?”

When he was done explaining everything to her, Ari pulled her bed clothes back.

“What are you doing?” Jai frowned, blocking her path.

“Getting out of bed. There
’
s another asshat after me. I have to deal with it.”

“Get back in bed. You almost died,” he growled. “And don
’
t think I
’
m letting you away with the stunt you pulled.”

Ari gaped at him, indignation flooding her. “Is that your idea of a thank you?”

Jai raised an eyebrow, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Thank you?” he breathed. “You want me to say thank you for almost killing yourself?”

I want you to say thank you for saving your life! I want you to say, Ari, I get it now!

Bitter disappointment tingled on her tongue and Ari shook her head. “I don
’
t want anything from you.”

Before he could react, the door to the bedroom burst open and Charlie took three huge strides towards her, brushing Jai aside and crushing Ari up into a hug so big she was pulled up onto her feet. She hugged him back, comforted by the familiar feel of him.

“I was so worried,” Charlie said hoarsely, the rumble of his words tickling her ear.