“You already know what I chose,” Asmodeus interrupted quietly.
“Why?” Ari felt like crying at the knowledge of what had been placed inside of her by her father. “And does The White King know what it is he has done to me?”
“No,” Asmodeus replied. “He doesn’t realize that what he’s looking for is the actual Seal. He thinks the Seal wil procure what he’s looking for. As for your former question… my reasons are my own.”
“No one knows that Lilif’s essence existed within the Seal. Although, I expect my clever sleuth of a son, Red, has surmised the truth by now after learning of your dreams and paying a visit to an old friend of mine.” Azazil seemed to take in Ari’s searching, burning eyes with little feeling as he continued his story, “I admit to being intrigued when I discovered White’s plans to steal the Seal and use it to conceive a child who would carry its properties within her or him. He thought he was merely creating a conduit for his scheme to find Lilif’s body and essence, whereas I was curious if Lilif’s essence, so naturaly placed within a Jinn, would bring her back into the balance without the danger of her madness. So I ordered Asmodeus to let your mother seduce him for the Seal.”
“Oh my God.” Ari felt like she’d been kicked in the stomach. “It was al you. Al this time, it was al you.”
“I wanted you for myself. I wanted to see if, through you, I could have a Lilif the way my Sultana was always meant to be. She was supposed to be light and dark.
True, she was always heavier on the dark and Asmodeus always heavier on the light, but there was always a balance. Until she let the darkness destroy her. But through you there was hope that at least her power could exist as it should have.” He dropped his head, seeming almost sad. “But Asmodeus, unaware of my true hopes, grew suspicious of what the Seal was realy doing to you. When you argued, your eyes changed to black like Lilif’s and your whole being reminded him so greatly of her, that he decided today to trigger the Seal and see once and for al if his suspicions were correct.”
“What suspicions?” she asked, taking a step back, but the fear in her gut was teling her she already knew what he was about to say.
“That Lilif’s essence is escaping the Seal and fighting to take control of you.”
“How is that even possible?” Ari whispered. “I thought the essence was just the power?”
“Lilif is no ordinary Jinn, Ari. She is almost as old as I. No Jinn was ever meant to carry her essence within them. I see that now.”
“So I’m what? An experiment gone wrong?” she spat.
He shrugged. “Succinctly put. Now I think we should take the Seal back before Lilif causes any more damage.”
Back? Back… back would mean kiling her. Right? Oh God, she despised them! Ari wanted to destroy Azazil, she wanted to command the damn son-of-a-bitch to
his knees… and Lilif was in there ready to help her to do it…
As if sensing the danger within her, Asmodeus began to move a hand and Ari felt the gathering of his power in the air. She blew back from him using her newly found speed and held up a hand. “Stop!” she commanded and both Azazil and Amosdeus’ expressions darkened, like thunder clouds roling over a sky that had only moments ago been calm.
To al of their surprise Asmodeus took a menacing step forward, the Seal’s command seeming to have no effect on him.
“Stop, Asmodeus!” she cried out in desperation, her hand flying up as if to pulse the power of the Seal out of him.
He kept coming.
“Stop,” Azazil commanded quietly and Asmodeus immediately turned to give him a quizzical look of frustration. “The Seal does not work against you. Did you know this?”
Asmodeus shook his head, a bewildered, feral look in his eyes. “No, Your Majesty, I did not.”
Smiling now, Azazil stood up, his smug expression terrorizing Ari. “Wel, this changes things slightly. Not for you.” He flicked Ari a careless look. “But for Asmodeus. I was going to destroy the Seal and place Lilif’s essence back in hiding. But…” he smiled as if amused, “The Seal is almost mythical in its existence. It excites my people. It chalenged my son to draw up a quite briliant plan, even though it backfired on us al. And here is Asmodeus, immune to the Seal. The perfect protector. Why not alow it to remain here, with you, Asmodeus? It’s only fitting since it is your sister’s being. The Seal was safe with you my friend for centuries, and clearly for a reason. So… what wil it be? Ari as a pet? Or the ring back around your neck?”
Considering his options with a penetrating run of his eyes over Ari’s body, the Lieutenant finaly shook his head and Ari wasn’t sure if that was regret she read in his eyes, or only her own wishful thinking. “I think I’d prefer the ring around my neck. This one is too dangerous to have around.”
Azazil nodded, seeming to understand Asmodeus’ enigmatic comment. “Oh don’t worry, Ari.” Azazil’s expression was bland again. “Recovering the Seal may or
may not kil you. We have no way of knowing. Your destiny is very—for lack of a better word —blurry, at the moment.”
Ari took a step back, her thoughts whirring around inside her head. Okay. She couldn’t live with Lilif inside her. She knew that. She did.
A momentary shot of terror gripped her heart as she realized she might die either way. But as she fought to control her breathing and relax the way Jai had taught her, Ari let herself think about it. Sacrificing herself meant Lilif would be kept imprisoned. Surely that was worth the sacrifice?
But if she offered to sacrifice herself and there was a chance that she actualy made it out on the other side, she was getting something of worth out of it.
“Come any closer and I’l command Azazil to kil you before you even make a move,” Ari told Asmodeus softly.
The room darkened as Azazil’s energy thickened with what Ari assumed was his anger. “What do you want?” he asked shrewdly.
Ari drew in a shuddering breath. “If I die, you save Jai and let him return unharmed to his tribe.”
“Done.” He nodded, his expression one of utter boredom.
Ari narrowed her eyes. “And-”
“And?” Azazil sat forward now, his eyebrow raised in haughty enquiry.
“If I do this wilingly, and I live, then I get to cal in a favor.”
“I thought that was your favor.”
“No, that was just a gesture of good wil.”
He smirked at that. “If your favor then is for the sorcerer, I cannot save him if he kils the Labartu. I am sorry. That is out of my hands.”
Dammit. Ari forced down her helpless tears. They were of no use to her here. “Fine. But I stil want a favor if I survive. And I want your oath that you’l give me whatever it is I ask of you.”
She flicked a gaze at Asmodeus to see his eyes gleaming at her again, as if he almost respected her in that moment. As she turned to find Azazil’s answer, she saw he was smiling, as if enjoying himself immensely. “You have my oath that if you survive, I wil grant you a favor—if it is within my power to do so.”
“Done.”
Asmodeus was a blur, his glowing fist crashing down into her chest before Ari had even blinked. Shocked agony tore through Ari as his dark eyes bored into her pleading ones. I am sorry, his voice whispered inside her head. Or had she just imagined it?
It was with relief that his fist withdrew from her, light pulsing between the cracks in his fingers. They uncurled slowly, and the throbbing bal of ember in his palm was the last thing Ari saw before the sweet relief of dying pain swept her away on its tides.
23 - At Least Take My Shield When You Go Into Battle
For two years the Labartu, Akasha, who had kiled Mikey and left the Creagh family to drown in their own devastation, had not left the United States. Ari’s strong aura of power when she’d turned sixteen and broken the protection magic Sala had placed around her, had drawn Akasha to Sandford Ridge when she’d been nearby with another victim. But after kiling Mikey, and hungry for new victims and new places, she’d quickly moved on.
According to The Glass King, Akasha had been hopping from State to State for a number of years, although there had been a period of three months when she’d
disappeared (his guess to Mount Qaf), leaving The Guild who had been tracking her to scramble to find her when she returned.
Her hunger, her vile and wicked evil had led Charlie to this moment—to this motel room in Alief, Southwest Houston. The motel was situated just off of the
Southwest Freeway, the constant flow of traffic buzzing in the near distance was the only thing to break the silence of Charlie’s despair.
When Glass had told Charlie he’d found Akasha, Charlie had lied to Falon. He’d promised her that he wasn’t going anywhere until he knew that Ari was okay.
Before Red had given him the emerald, that probably would have been true. He would have waited for word from her. He even might have attempted some stupid-ass rescue mission.
But not now.
Whatever fear he’d felt after using the emerald had begun to recede with its proximity again. It had begun to recede when Glass had come to him with news of Akasha’s whereabouts. He was on the cusp of his revenge and consumed with the need to use the emerald again; the lingering taste of its incredible power provocative and beckoning.
So with Falon convinced he was going nowhere, Charlie had approached Glass and asked him to take him to the Labartu. They’d traveled using the dizzying rush that was the Peripatos to a smal, dark room off of Route 59 in Houston.
Then The Red King had shown up to destroy everything, Charlie thought bitterly.
No need for words of explanation, his face grim as he’d looked upon Glass, Red had simply said, “We’ve done what father wished of us. No more. We’re done
here.”
“But… what?” Charlie had asked in a rush, in a panic. “We’re in Houston, Texas. Houston! How the hel am I supposed to find Akasha in a city this huge by
myself?”
That was the point, Charlie had suddenly realized, taking in Red’s blank expression with absolute disbelief and bitter disappointment. Without their help, Charlie couldn’t find Akasha in time.
Red was trying to keep his word to Ari.
Before Charlie could try to argue his corner, the two Jinn Kings had disappeared into the flames.
He would always just be a human kid who’d been granted some power from those guys. He couldn’t feel out Jinn yet from great distances. Al he had was an emerald and what Glass had taught him.
And that would have to be enough.
Damning the consequences, Charlie had conjured a credit card to pay for the room at the motel. He conjured food that didn’t belong to him after spending day in and day out troling the streets for Akasha, hoping that if he got close enough, he’d feel her. It was quite the task, annoying and frustrating as he had to avoid the worst neighborhoods. The last thing he wanted was to accidentaly kil a human bent on holding him at gunpoint for whatever was in his walet.
The search felt pointless.