Scorched Skies (9 page)

“Oh.” Ari
’
s heart pounded in her chest in realization. “No. That wasn
’
t in Jai
’
s book.”

“I am sorry for your loss, Ari.” The Red King sighed and Ari looked at him closely, searching for some sincerity. She thought she found it but after what Jai had told her, Ari wasn
’
t sure she could trust this man.

“What am I supposed to do?” another tear scored her cheek as she gazed around her dad
’
s room. “Where do I go from here?”

“My advice?”

“Yes?”

“You deal with your dad
’
s funeral and we get you out of here. This is only the beginning. You can
’
t sit idly by in this house and wait for my brother to come to you. We need to plan our next move. But you,” he brushed another strand of hair off her face, “Have barely had time to process this.”

The house phone rang just then, jolting Ari into reality. She glanced at the phone on her dad
’
s bedside table and then looked back at The Red King. He nodded solemnly and sickening dread filled her as she reached over and picked up the receiver.

Even though she knew, even though she
’
d expected it, it was horrifying to listen to the police officer tell her that her dad was dead. She was given instructions to come to the morgue to verify that it was his body. She let the receiver drop and swallowed back vomit. It burned her throat and she waved a weak hand over the bedside cabinet, imagining one of the water bottles from her fridge. It appeared before her and she took a swig, thinking about what Jai had told her.

“You made Jai lie to me about the consequences of using my magic,” she whispered.

“I did it to save your dad.”

“You did save him.” She swallowed down tears and looked back over at him and shrugged. “I didn
’
t.”

“You couldn
’
t have stopped them, Ari.”

“No, I could have. That
’
s why they knocked me out.”

“Then we
’
ll work on some training. Jai can teach you to be more aware of your surroundings and teach you to use your defensive magic.”

“Can he teach me to turn back time?”

“No,” he answered softly.

Ari nodded, pulling herself up and onto her feet. She wobbled a bit. “Today my dad was honest with me for the first time in my life.”

The Red King returned her gaze, waiting, offering a quiet kind of solace. God she wished she could trust him.

“I never really knew him.” She shrugged, feeling brittle and irritable. Her skin felt dry and her bones felt sore, and every movement made her muscles scream. “How can I be in this much pain when I didn
’
t even know him?”

“You knew what he allowed you to know, Ari. And you loved him. I don
’
t know what happened out there between you before you were attacked, but whatever it was… it doesn
’
t mean you aren
’
t allowed to grieve.”

Nodding, Ari headed towards the door and stopped when she saw Jai and Charlie waiting in the hallway.  Charlie looked ready to launch himself across the hall at her but she didn
’
t want to be touched right now.

“Jai, please accompany Ari to the county morgue,” The Red King commanded softly.

“I
’
ll go with her,” Charlie offered.

No.

Okay.
The Red King
’
s voice echoed back in her head and she realized with a gentle start that that was the first time they
’
d spoken to one another telepathically. Ari had done it without thinking.

“No. I need Jai guarding her. You
’
re back on full-time duty as of now, Mr. Bitar.”

“Of course,” the sound of Jai
’
s gravelly voice felt soothing against Ari
’
s agitated body.

Not able to meet Charlie
’
s eyes, Ari walked past them and down the stairs. She saw her car keys in the bowl at the door. Jai must have brought her car back.

Derek is dead.

It knocked the breath right out of her and when she turned to wait on Jai, a tear slipped out before she could stop it. Jai
’
s expression was pained as he took the last step off the staircase towards her. He stopped inches from her, much closer than he normally stood, so close she could smell that skin-tingling cologne he wore. When his hand came up to her cheek and she felt the gentle press of his thumb sweeping her tears away, Ari unconsciously leaned into his touch, no longer feeling brittle, no longer wanting space. She wanted to dive into Jai
’
s arms and feel his heartbeat against her ear. She wanted to feel vital life wrapped around her in a moment when death seemed so much stronger.

“I
’
m sorry,” he whispered, his fingers trailing down her cheek before his arm fell back to his side.

She nodded and looked over his shoulder to see Charlie watching them, his eyes bright with pain. That hurt. Ari offered him a wobbly smile. “I
’
ll be back soon.”

“Ari…” Charlie breathed and she knew he wanted to come to her.

“I know,” she whispered. She should have let him. She should have let him enfold her in his arms and offer her the comfort she sought. But he wasn
’
t the one she wanted the comfort from. He wouldn
’
t ever be when Jai was standing so close.

Sick to her stomach, Ari turned and grabbed her keys, bracing herself for the horror ahead.

~6~

Diamond-Sewn Solitude is Just a Richer Loneliness

Ari stood in Derek
’
s bedroom trembling. Everything was taken care of. Jai and Charlie had been a great help. The funeral was tomorrow. She had picked out a suit for her dad and Charlie had taken it to the funeral home. Jai and Charlie had made all the arrangements and she
’
d signed where she needed to, signed the checks. Charlie had even picked out the casket because she was too distraught to do much of anything. The guys had even sat with her while a lawyer went over her dad
’
s will. Everything was now hers and she was eighteen so… she was on her own. Her dad had bought an apartment in Philadelphia that she hadn
’
t known about and it was in her name. For college she presumed. She
’
d have to put the house on the market and she
’
d have to sell that apartment too. She couldn
’
t stay here even if she wasn
’
t being hunted by a powerful Jinn King. Too many memories. Too much hurt.

Covered in grime and dust, Ari had attacked her dad
’
s bedroom with blank energy. Everything was thrown into cardboard boxes, some for goodwill, some for the garbage, some she couldn
’
t help but want to keep.

Even though a huge, guilty part of her was still furious with her dad.

And now this.

She glanced around at the work she
’
d done, the envelope in her hand crushing under her tense fingers.
Jai
, she telepathed to him and waited, listening to his footsteps climb the stairs immediately.

“What
’
s wrong?” he asked quietly, stepping into the room.

Ari ached when she turned to look at him
—
so glad he was here for her but sad that she was growing more and more attached when she should be deliberately pushing him away. Sighing, trying to still her shaking hands, she held out the envelope she
’
d found in the drawer of her dad
’
s bedside table.

“What
’
s this?” Jai frowned, his lashes covering his vivid eyes as he looked down at the item in his hand.

“My 18th birthday present.”

He tilted the envelope letting the keys fall out of it and into his palm. He held them up, questions in his eyes.

Heart hammering, Ari held up the piece of paper they had come with. “He bought me that apartment in Philadelphia for my birthday.”

Sympathy softened Jai
’
s features and he nodded, seeming unsure what to say. Finally he shrugged. “Would you like to check it out?”

“How?”

“I
’
ll teach you to use the
Peripatos
.”

Little nervous gremlins tickled Ari
’
s stomach. “Now?”

“Yeah, now.”

“OK.”

“You have an item that connects you to the place you want to go, so that should help.” He dropped the keys into her palm taking measures to make sure they didn
’
t touch one another.  Ari frowned. He was in love with someone else. She got that already!

“What now?”

“Give me the address?”

She handed him the slip of paper and he glanced at it quickly before giving it back to her. “OK. You have to really focus. Are you sure you
’
re able to concentrate.”

“I can do this,” she assured him firmly, a little excited now at the thought of using her powers. “Just tell me how.”

“Concentrate on the thought of that apartment, on the apartment that the keys in your hand open. Think of nothing else. Focus. Imagine taking a step into that apartment. Don
’
t try to visualize what it looks like, just imagine taking a step into the apartment that the keys in your hand open. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Now, when you step into the
Peripatos
you
’
ll see the flames around you, touching you, but they won
’
t hurt you… they
’
re a part of you, so don
’
t panic and lose concentration.”

And that was exactly what Ari did.

The flames flooded out of her, up and around her, and she panicked. All thought of the apartment disappeared as fear sluiced over her like water dousing the flames of the
Peripatos.
Ari frowned. She was still in Derek
’
s bedroom looking at a patient Jai.

He smiled softly at her and it did what the flames hadn
’
t. It melted her. “Don
’
t panic this time. I
’
ll be right behind you.”