All extremely well trained, they strode through the rectangular mausoleum on silent feet and stepped out into the now dark cemetery. Jai’s night eyes washed over the area before them, trying to spot a hint of movement, a spark of fire. Making sure not to step on twigs or crush the ground beneath their boots, the three walked in tandem, walking back down to the beginning of the graveyard so they could skirt the perimeter and then make their way inwards in a spiral. The hush pressed heavily upon them and very gradually Jai could hear Anabeth’s breathing increasing. He tapped her shoulder, and with his eyes, tried to tell her to calm down. She nodded gratefully, her long red hair glinting in the brightening moonlight. Jai sighed inwardly. She should have covered her hair.
“What’s this? Three little Jinn looking for me?”
They whipped around as one and Jai took a step forward, putting himself between the voice and The Guild hunters. Sitting upon a large gravestone was the Utukku. It was smaller than the average man, but its scaly, muddy-green limbs were long and thin. It peered at them with constant blinking yellow eyes and a wide, lion-like smile. Whispy white hair protruded from its head in tufts and long black claws curled from the tip of its fingers as it waved a hand at them, grinning, his pink and black gums visible as he flashed sharp, black teeth. “Alú at your service.” He shot a look behind Jai. “Well, I’ve done my part. Now you do yours.”
Fire erupted as the Utukku took off into the Peripatos and Jai spun around, his brain trying to make sense of what it had said. His eyes put two and two together as they fell upon an unconscious Brett, the smell of copper from the blood seeping out of the wound in his chest filling the night air. Jai’s eyes were drawn to the weapon that had caused it as the handle of the blade was clenched tighter in Anabeth’s hands.
“Why?” Jai asked, shocked but unafraid of her.
“He wants you out of the way,” she whispered. “He promised me everything.” A dazed smile lit her pretty face and Jai knew she was lost in the intoxicating power of the Jinn who had offered her so much. “Even this.” She untucked a stone from under her t-shirt where it hung on a silver chain, and before Jai could react to defend himself against the emerald Anabeth should not have had, he was flying backwards through the air. The breath whooshed out of his lungs as he collided with the hard dirt ground. As he struggled to suck it back in and as his eyes re-focused, Jai’s mouth fell open, his limbs too slow to stop the fire-powered swords raining down from the sky towards him.
The knot of unease in Ari’s gut was growing steadily tighter. Her legs were even beginning to tremble. Waves of nausea kept rolling over her and she knew, she just knew, that something wasn’t right. Glad for once to have lost Fallon’s interest to Charlie, Ari had escaped into the quiet solitude of the bedroom they shared. What had been that energy she’d felt when Anabeth had come into the room to collect Jai? And more than that… why had the Utukki or Utukka or E-dimwit or whatever it was, taken up shop in a cemetery so close to the Guild. The more and more she thought about it the more and more it just seemed too much of a coincidence.
Oh crap.
Had The Guild set them up?
Had they set up Jai?
Why hadn’t the idiot seen through that? He was supposed to be the smart one.
Oh God, Jai!
Visions of finding his lifeless body flashed across her eyes and Ari’s breath left her in panic.
No, no, calm down. She shook her head. I’m acting like a crazy person.
Or am I?
There was only one way to make herself feel better and that was to go after Jai and assist him. If he was fine and sent her back then she would obey him. For once. She just needed to know that everything was a-OK. Do I tell them I’m leaving?
Ari thought about her suspicions.
Nah.
Doing as Jai had taught her, Ari concentrated on the cemetery. St. Francis, Gerard had called it. She thought about the St. Francis Cemetery in Phoenix and focused on Jai in particular. Fire exploded around her, licking her skin with its invisible flames. Disorientation eased far more quickly this time and Ari stepped out into the night air, the smell of heat still tickling her nose.
Everything happened so quickly after that.
Jai lay on the ground, yelling in agony as two fire blazing swords pinned him down through his shoulders. Anabeth stood yards away from him, standing over a body, rubbing a large emerald stone. In her other hand was a ball of glowing, burning, molten, violent ember that was growing in swirling ferocity.
“There’s no coming back from this, Jai!” Anabeth cried out maniacally. “He wants you gone!” She threw the ember ball at him and Ari had no time to command her, no time to stop it. Instead she pulled on the Peripatos, fire flickering in and out, dizziness overwhelming her… and then pain as she put herself between the magical weapon and Jai, landing in the path of the ball of ember. It felt like a hole of heat had been punched right through her. Her chest blazed with pure agony. She couldn’t breathe. The starry sky twinkled above her, not making a move to help as Ari tried desperately to suck in air. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her whole body writhed with pain, her limbs twisting, her fists clenching as she struggled on the hard ground. Her lungs suddenly opened up but being able to breathe now only made her focus on the excruciating hurt flaring from her chest. It crawled into her blood and snapped all her nerves. The sky grew blurry, black creeping into the edges of her vision as her brain tried to shut out what it couldn’t withstand.
Red hair blew across her vision and Ari gulped, tasting blood. Anabeth’s fuzzy face appeared over her, worried and glazed… like she was hypnotized or something. Vaguely Ari wished this wouldn’t keep happening; that she could finally stumble into one of these situations and be in a position to use her power before she got hurt. But life was never that easy.
“It wasn’t supposed to be you,” Anabeth whimpered. “No.”
Ari coughed, feeling the darkness creep ever faster. She was losing time. She still needed to save Jai. “I c-co-” she choked on the blood. “I command you to leave Jai unharmed,” she whispered and the blackness finally won.
The magic in the swords pinning him down was strong and Jai was weak. That was no ordinary emerald in Anabeth’s hand. That was Mount Qaf emerald. Someone had betrayed them.
He could see Ari lying on the ground from where she’d taken the hit that was supposed to have gotten him. A hit that would have killed him. That may be killing her now. Through the pain Jai growled weakly as he tried to move, to get to her. To protect her as Anabeth strode towards her with trembling limbs.
“It wasn’t supposed to be you,” Anabeth whispered. “No.”
Ari was shuddering hard now and Jai bit back another yelp of pain as he tried to lift his left arm. “I c-co-” she stopped as a horrible coughing fit took over. Jai felt panic grip his chest. “I command you to leave Jai unharmed,” Ari’s hoarse words whispered towards his disbelieving ears and he froze as her whole body grew still.
“No!” he yelled, fear killing him more than the physical pain. “No! Ari!”
Anabeth stumbled back, looking at him with her own fear printed in her eyes. “What do I do now?”
And before Jai could beg her to let him go so he could save Ari, Anabeth fled into the Peripatos. As the last hiss of her flames died out Jai lay there in the sickening silence and damned Ari all to hell for putting his life before her own. Fury and impotence roared through him and all his magic exploded into his telepathy.
RED, GET HERE NOW! ARI IS DYING!
The message was barely sent and The Red King was running out of the Peripatos towards Ari, his red hair blowing behind him like a flag in battle. “What happened?” he roared, his face mottled with rage as he dropped to his knees beside Ari’s body.
Jai held back the tears that were threatening to spill as he tried to get a better look at her. “One of The Guild,” he managed as Red put his hand over Ari’s wound and then checked her pulse. “She tricked us with the help of an Utukku. The Utukku was sent here to lure me out. Someone did this. Someone from Mount Qaf. She had Mount Qaf emerald.”
The Red King’s eyes flashed at the news as he carefully picked Ari’s limp body up into his strong arms. He strode towards Jai, eyeing the swords. “You’re right. This is powerful magic.” He placed a free hand around first the right sword and it turned to ash, the weight of it easing from Jai. In its place he felt warm blood soak his clothes from the now open wound. Red did the same with the other and Jai struggled into a sitting position, his whole upper body sensitive with hurt. In truth, Jai could be paralyzed right then and he wouldn’t care. His eyes and heart were with Ari.
“Will she be OK?” he whispered hoarsely, struggling to his feet and stumbling.
The Red King caught him without letting go of Ari. His features were tight. “I need to get you both to my healer. I’ve called him to a safe house. We cannot trust The Guild just yet.”
The thought of using the Peripatos nearly buckled Jai’s knees. Sweat and blood rolled down his body as he turned to look at Brett’s unconscious figure. “The hunter. He had nothing to do with this. I think it,” he stopped, taking a deep breath, “it was just Anabeth.”
“I’ll come back for the hunter,” The Red King promised. “But we can’t tarry any longer. Every minute counts.” And with that he disappeared into the flames taking Ari with him. Jai didn’t even think to focus on where he was going or if he’d get there in his current weakened state. His only thought was to follow the girl who had come to mean so much to him.
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.