The Seven Kings of Jinn

It did not surprise Ari that Jai didn’t trust Charlie. He thought everyone had an agenda about everything. That the Red King respected Jai’s opinion and intuition did surprise her. She frowned, seeing Charlie’s jaw flex with indignation. If she didn’t say something quick, Charlie might, and she didn’t know if she could stop her uncle from harming him. If he did, he could kiss any kind of relationship with her goodbye.

“Look—”

The door to the hospital room squeaked open and a nurse entered. Her eyes widened at the sight of the Red King, her mouth falling open and shut like a fish gulping bubbles. When it became apparent she was paused in astonishment, Ari hit the play button and strode over to the nurse. “Is something wrong?” she asked worriedly.

The nurse swallowed hard, her head turning toward Ari, her eyes following her head slowly as if they were struggling to pry themselves from the Red King. “Um…” she made a weird, hysterical little noise in the back of her throat and glanced down at the papers in her hands. Her face flushed lobster red. “I have hospital forms you need to fill out, insurance, etc.”

“My niece has already filled those out,” the Red King said before Ari could take them. His voice was warm as he walked toward the nurse with a charming smile on his face.

“Uh.” The nurse shook her head in confusion. “No. Forms haven’t been filled out for Mr. Johnson yet.”

“Yes, they have,” he assured her, tapping the papers in her hand. “Check them again.”

Nodding shakily, the nurse flipped through the papers, her eyes widening and her cheeks turning an even darker shade of red. “So they have. So sorry for intruding. I’ll leave you alone with your father, Ms. Johnson.” She spoke to Ari but still continued to stare openly at the Red King. Ari couldn’t blame her. “Visiting Hours are over in about an hour.”

When the nurse made no move to leave, Ari felt bad for her. Her uncle kept smiling at the poor woman and it was hypnotizing her. Finally, he sighed, gesturing to the door impatiently. She blushed hard again before stumbling and fumbling for the door. Ari breathed a sigh of relief when she left. The effect of the jinn on the human woman made her extremely uncomfortable.

“So.” She retreated to standing at Charlie’s side. This silently told her uncle that he may not trust Charlie, but of the two of them, the human won her vote. “Why are you here?”

The Red King strode over to her dad. “Jai contacted me to tell me he had no choice but to leave you unattended. I came to watch over you while he retrieves the tellicherry bark from his tribe.”

“You’re the Red King?” Charlie suddenly asked, taking a step toward him, his eyes round with awe. He had that same rapt look on his face he’d had when the Aissawa Brothers were doing the exorcism.

Ari watched nervously as the Red King circled him, his gaze calculating. The energy he projected seemed to wash over Charlie, who shivered visibly. Just when Ari was sure she would stop breathing altogether, her uncle drew to a halt in front of her friend, a strange smile on his face that reminded her way too much of the White King. “You scream of pain,” he whispered, suddenly seeming just as fascinated by Charlie. “No wonder Jai is wary of you. There is so much power in your pain, Charlie Creagh.”

“Really?” Charlie asked hoarsely, desperately.

The Red King nodded and they shared a silent, long look that sent an indecipherable shiver through Ari. She didn’t know what passed between her best friend and the jinn, but whatever it was, she didn’t like it, and she didn’t like how spellbound Charlie was by all things jinn.

To distract her uncle from her friend, she gestured to her father and asked, “Do you think this was the White King?”

The Red King was suddenly on the other side of the bed, staring down into her dad’s face. Ari squeaked in fright at his supernatural speed and he glanced over at her with a smirk.

“So cool…” Charlie murmured.

Ari made a face at him and he tried to cover up his awe, his features evening out as he attempted to look somber.

Taking a calming breath, Ari turned to her uncle. “Well?”

“We won’t know until Jai arrives with the tellicherry bark,” he muttered noncommittally.

Chapter 16

A destiny that tastes like the end

Sweat rolled down Jai’s temples and he squeezed his eyes shut against the pain in his head. Giving in to Ari’s pleas meant summoning the Red King, which meant using telepathy across the realms, which meant agony for those too young and not powerful enough to handle it. His legs trembled as he stood in his father’s office, the two of them waiting for the healer with the stock of tellicherry bark to arrive.