Of Wish and Fury (Seven Kings of Jinn)

Growing up in New Jersey, Fallon hadn’t really made friends outside of the Guild. It was too difficult to keep the life a secret and the fact that they traveled a lot raised too many questions when they brought in outsiders. People were only initiated into the group if they married a guild member. Even then, the guild member had to be certain their future wife or husband wouldn’t run to a shrink when they discovered jinn were real. Fallon had tried out a serious relationship in school, but had only ended up hurt when he dumped her for being distant and secretive. For the last few years, dating had been casual and fun. Nothing more. Until she met someone in ‘the life’ Fallon didn’t want her relationships to be anything more than casual.

Ari also learned a lot about the other team members in Phoenix. Anabeth, the red-head with wandering hands, was a year older than Ari and Fallon, and according to Fallon, she was a selfish, spoiled flirt. Her mother was also second generation jinn, so Anabeth was pretty powerful. Fallon did not get along with her. Her half-brothers, the twins, were usually laid-back guys. Matt had a fiancé back home in the Guild, and Fallon had messed around with Callum a few times out of boredom. Fallon thought what he did to Ari at the dinner table was feeble and had decided to end their ‘friends with benefits’ situation immediately afterward. Everyone else, according to Fallon, was pretty cool. Her aunt and uncle, and Susan and Aidan Roe — her cousins — were nice people. She didn’t know James and Scott Becke all that well, but she was getting to know Bryleigh, and Fallon thought she could be a nice person if she stopped acting like she’d popped out of a magazine for Women of the ‘50s. Because Jacob was one of the elders of the Roe Guild, Fallon knew his kids, Brechin and Ailidh Ballendine, well. They were nice, but took everything seriously. They did not understand Fallon’s flippancy. But then again, Fallon wasn’t sure anyone did.

Once the girl had given Ari a rundown on the group, Fallon started firing questions at her. When did she find out she was jinn? What her dad had been like? What was Azazil like? What was Mount Qaf like? What was going on with her and Jai? And on and on… And to Ari’s surprise, she told Fallon everything. It all spilled out of her, from Mike dying on Ari’s sixteenth birthday, Charlie’s spiral downward, her dad’s negligence, her eighteenth birthday and being swept up onto Mount Qaf. How wicked her real father was. The Red King. Jai. Nick’s possession. Charlie’s wish. Jai’s rejection. Derek’s death and how little time she’d been allowed to mourn him. Ari laid it all out there, keeping only Ms. Maggie to herself. By the time she was done, the air in the bedroom felt thick with her spewed emotions. Finally, Fallon had whispered into the brightening gloom, “You’re going to be okay, Ari Johnson.” And that was it. Ari had made a friend. It felt good.

“Holy shit! Ari yelled, throwing up a hand to melt the dagger heading for her heart. The smell of molten metal filled the air in the yard before disappearing in the gentle breeze. It was day three with the Roe Guild, and Ari trained with Fallon in the backyard after lunch. Jai hung out, supervising… kind of. And to everyone’s surprise, Jack Hollis took an interest in Charlie and the two of them were always off together, hanging out, talking — Ari presumed they got along because they both knew what it was like to lose someone they loved to an evil jinn. Things had been pretty normal in training until Fallon rubbed a silver key hanging around her neck and conjured a dagger. Ari gaped at the girl as she stood there grinning, her designer sunglasses too big for her pixie face. “What? Why? Where?”

“It was part of a practice set my mom bought me.” Fallon shrugged. “Don’t worry, I’m not mad you ruined it.”

“Ruined it,” Ari spluttered — she’d almost been gutted. “Practice set? Your mom bought you daggers?”

“Of course.” Fallon slid her sunglasses down her nose so she could peer at her. “You didn’t think I stole them, did you?”

Ari frowned. “Maybe.”

“Tut, tut, Ari J,” Fallon mock-admonished. “Only sorcerers don’t care about the consequences. Well.” She grinned wickedly. “Most of the time.”

At the mention of consequences, Ari shot a look at Jai, who sat on a lawn chair reading a book he’d borrowed from Gerard. Somehow, Ari knew he was aware of everything they were doing. “Until recently I wasn’t even aware of the consequences.”

Fallon’s eyebrows hit her hairline as she turned to gape at Jai, shoving her sunglasses up onto her head. “Hey, Gorgeous!” she called and he glanced up with weary patience. Fallon had yet to call Jai by his actual name. She called him ‘Babe’ ‘Sweetcheeks’ ‘Adonis’ and other equally embarrassing names that irritated the hell out of him. It just made Ari like her more. “You didn’t tell her about the consequences of using her magic right away? What are you, new?”