The Seven Kings of Jinn

Ari breathed a sigh of relief when the jacket stayed in place. “Thanks, Ms. Maggie. I appreciate it. It’s been a rough day.” She wandered out of the cold hallway into the even colder, empty kitchen. Their house seemed to lack the cozy warmth of her friends’ houses. She didn’t know if that was to do with the minimalist furniture or the lack of any actual family living in it. There could have been a family. But Ari had ruined that for her dad.

All of her life, Ari had lived knowing that her mother, some mysterious woman named Sala, had broken her father’s heart after a passionate and brief affair. Then she returned to him nine months after the fact with a baby she said was his. She’d left Ari with him and disappeared, never to be seen again. Her father had done the best he could, Ari knew that. And she knew he loved her more than anything. He had tried. He’d read to her every night before bed. He’d taught her to swim, to play baseball, to throw a punch without breaking her thumb. But as she’d gotten older, they had grown apart. Over the years, there had only been a few girlfriends, for which Ari was grateful. Unlike other kids with no moms, Ari hadn’t wanted one. To her, a mom was this creature who had stolen her daddy’s heart and ripped it out, leaving them both in the cold, lost and alone. So when Derek had gotten serious with this one woman when Ari was ten, she’d panicked. If her father married this woman, she’d be Ari’s mom. What if she left too? She’d just break their hearts as well. And to be honest, Ari didn’t want to share her dad with anyone. The lie she’d told that broke up the relationship still ate at her conscience eight years later. In a moment of pure childish stupidity, with no real clue to the consequences of her actions, Ari had lied and told her dad that his girlfriend (Michelle) had slapped her during an argument. Derek was furious. He believed his daughter over his four-month-old relationship and had swiftly ended things. There had been no one serious since. Ari blanched every time she thought about it. Her dad would probably never forgive her if he knew the truth. Poor Michelle.

Ari’s cell rang in the pocket of her jeans and she jumped, startled. Pulling her phone out, she smiled at the caller ID and pressed the answer call button. “Dad.”

“Hey, sweetheart,” his warm, deep voice reminded her of Christmas Day on the couch watching Home Alone and eating chocolates for breakfast. “How’s things?”

“Okay. Graduation in a couple of days,” she reminded him.

“I know, sweetheart,” he replied wearily. “I’ve asked Rachel’s mom to take care of you and to take lots of pictures of you in your cap and gown. I’m so sorry I can’t be there. You know I would if I could, but I can’t miss this meeting. It could be my biggest sale this year.”

She nodded, feeling a little numb to the distance between them now. “I know. Don’t worry about it, Dad. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal. That’s why I want you to take the emergency credit card and buy whatever you need for your birthday party, okay?”

“Thanks, that’s great.”

“I’ve also got a fantastic birthday present for you and I’ll be home in three weeks. I can’t wait to see your face when you open it.”

She smiled. Admittedly, her dad always bought her the most thoughtful presents. “I hope you didn’t do anything extravagant.”

Derek laughed. “It’s your 18th, of course I did. I love you, kid.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

Their conversation was short and sweet, like always, and Ari spent the rest of the evening cooking pasta, watching cartoons, worrying about Charlie, and stalking his social media accounts to see if there was any recent activity. There never was. She talked to Rache and Staci for a while and then slid back from her desk, falling, emotionally exhausted, onto her bed.

“Ms. Maggie… can you hit the lights?” Two seconds later, the click of the switch echoed around the room and the bedroom plunged into darkness. “Thanks, you’re a doll.”

Two minutes later, a flash of light across her closed lids broke her fall into sleep and she groaned, prying her eyes open to see her phone screen glowing as it hovered in the air across the room.

“Ms. Maggie,” Ari groaned, flopping back against her pillows. “Can you Tweet in the morning? Please…”

The phone moved slowly through the air and landed gently on her bedside table.

“Thank you,” she breathed. “Today was already depressing enough without the reminder that my poltergeist has more followers on social media than I do.”

Chapter 2

A fiery lash for her crime