The Seven Kings of Jinn

“I didn’t know you had.”

“Shame.” He grinned, twisting around to look at Luca. “You haven’t told him yet?”

“He just got here, Your Highness,” Luca replied emotionlessly.

The Red King studied them knowingly. “Oh, I see. Yes. I see. Well, Jai.” He placed a large hand on Jai’s shoulder with a hearty clap. “It’s well known that Jai Bitar of the Ginnaye has an unusual gift. It gives him an edge in this whole guardian business. I require that edge.”

At the mention of his ‘gift’, Jai squirmed a little. He’d first realized he had the gift when he’d kissed their maid’s twelve-year-old daughter when he was thirteen. It was something to do with hitting puberty or something, but after he’d kissed her, he’d found himself connected to her. He could feel exactly where she was when her emotions were heightened and then, after a while, he could tap into their connection to find her location whenever he liked. He couldn’t read her mind, but he’d been pretty impressed by the ‘gift’ and had told his best, and only, friend Trey about it. Trey had thought it was too important to keep a secret and had told his father, Rik, who then told Jai’s father. An old jinn woman in the Ginnaye whose gift was a greater ability to ‘see’ things within people, explained that Jai’s magical kiss was a trait that had evolved from having a succubus for a mother. It was like his guardian genes and succubus genes had gotten together and come up with something unique. They discovered over the years that Jai’s kiss could be placed on a client to trace them. It had to be a genuine kiss and, like the succubus side, it only worked on those he could ever be sexually attracted to. In Jai’s case, that was only women. It had been a strange and difficult time in his life and he’d had no support from the one person he’d needed it from.

For everyone else, Luca Bitar was this strong, loyal jinn who protected people. To his family, he was the guy they could turn to for help. But when Jai’s mother seduced him against his will, she’d stolen a piece of the love he had for Nicki and he’d blamed Jai for it for as long as Jai could remember.

Letting the memories fade into the background, Jai turned deferentially to the Red King. “How can I be of service?”

“I like you.” The Red King pointed a gun finger at him and Jai couldn’t help but notice he didn’t act like an all powerful royal jinn. “I do. I like you. That’s good. Okay, kid. Here’s the deal. I have this extremely significant important I want you to watch over.”

Well, if it was someone one of the jinn kings wanted protected, they must be a big deal. Jai felt his blood pump with excitement at the challenge. “I take it she’s a woman, if you want my particular gift?”

“You betcha. Now, she’s real important to me, Jai. I need to know you got this.”

Slipping into guardian mode, Jai stiffened with determination. “Of course, Your Highness.”

“My son is the best, Your Highness,” Luca assured him.

Keeping his face impassive, Jai nearly struggled to swallow a smile when the Red King laughed at Luca and then turned to Jai with a twinkle in his eyes. “Bet that’s the first time you’ve ever heard that sentence uttered from his mouth.”

Rather than say anything disrespectful, Jai’s eyes gave a non-committal reply. He kind of liked the king. Jai had grown up on the stories of the jinn kings. He knew everything about them, Azazil, and the so-called War of the Flames. Never in any of those stories had he imagined the Red King to be… funny.

“Well, you’ll do.” The Red King nodded. “Look, this is an indefinitely long assignment and it’s a 24/7 hour guard, so if you got any stuff you need to take care of in Hollywood, you got twelve hours to do it. I’ll explain the whole situation when you meet me back here. I don’t do Hollywood. I like the movies but the people…” he shuddered at the thought before abruptly exploding into bright, hot licks of fire.

When he was gone silence echoed around his father’s office. Finally, Luca cleared his throat. “I don’t have to tell you how important this assignment is. You’re not the only reason the Red King came to us for this. When my great-grandfather was tribe leader, one of his guardians killed a jinn to protect an important. He was taken to the jinn courts and would have been tried and killed if the Red King hadn’t spoken up on his behalf. The Red King is collecting on the debt we owe him. Don’t screw it up.”

Not even his father’s disdain could ruin this moment for Jai. He’d just landed his biggest assignment ever. This would cement his position and power within the company. “No, sir.” He nodded militantly and then visualized his apartment to use the peripatos. He’d retrieve his car later.