The Seven Kings of Jinn

Head whirling at this new information, Ari narrowed her eyes at his last comment. “What do you mean?”

He shook his head, seeming to marvel at the fact that she hadn’t put two and two together. “The ifrit living in your home for a start.”

She frowned. “The ifrit? There’s no—” she gasped. “Ms. Maggie? My poltergeist?”

“Not a poltergeist,” Jai replied from the doorway. “Ifrit. A solid, living being. She’s just invisible. She’s been using the Cloak to stay hidden.”

Crushed, Ari tried to hide her upset. “I thought she was my friend. I mean, she’s been nice to me. She’s been my friend.”

Jai grunted. “Ifrits are rarely friendly.”

Hugging her arms around her body, Ari tried to remind herself that she wasn’t alone just because Ms. Maggie turned out to be jinn. She had her dad. And Charlie. Charlie who was probably going crazy wondering where the hell she was. Oh God, Charlie. She needed Charlie. “I should call Charlie.”

“About that…” The Red King grimaced. “The brother. The kid that died… your ifrit tells me that was a labartu.”

“You’ve spoken to Ms. Maggie? Wait… what… Mike? What’s a labartu?”

“Yes. I questioned the ifrit for answers and I also sent her on from here while you were searching the house like a hellion with a baseball bat. Moreover, I tidied away the mess from your party btw. You’re welcome.”

Ari blinked, only now realizing in all the craziness that the house was clean. She nodded wearily. “I appreciate it.”

He shrugged. “Anyway, according to the ifrit, your friend Nick is possessed by a young jinn attracted to you, and a labartu killed your friend Charlie’s little brother; a labartu is a jinn that specifically gets off on the destruction of young children. The cyclist that came out of nowhere wasn’t human. It was a she. A labartu. And she killed Mike.”

Like someone had snapped their fingers and pulled her into a trance, everything that she’d been told, her father, her mother, her uncle… it all fell away. She stood up. Ari had something she could fix. Something she could focus on. That she could make sense of. Something good out of all of this. She had to tell Charlie the truth. She had to tell him he wasn’t responsible for his brother’s death. Of course, there was the small matter of convincing him she wasn’t crazy. Ari glanced sharply at Jai. He might prove useful after all.

“And this guy.” She nodded in his direction. “He’s my bodyguard?”

Jai seemed to take offence at her tone, but the Red King stood before he could respond. “My brother wants to use you, force you to learn magic. Azazil would rather keep you hidden and protected.”

There was something missing here. “Why does some all powerful being like Azazil care what happens to me?”

Her uncle cocked his head in a way that reminded Ari of the White King. She shivered and tried to cover her reaction. However, the Red King wasn’t looking at her as if she were a specimen to be examined. He actually seemed impressed. Her uncle nodded, a small smile curving his lips. “He doesn’t.” He shrugged. “My father doesn’t care about you. He cares that the White King cares. And Azazil will do anything to thwart my brother for his betrayal and attempt at usurpation.”

Now that Ari could believe. “Fine.” She nodded, grateful for his honesty. She crossed her arms over her chest and ran her eyes over Jai. Ari wondered how the hell she was going to explain his presence to everyone. “So this guy is to protect me?”

“Yeah. Jai will provide twenty-four-hour protection from jinn that may become a nuisance and will keep an eye out for signs of my brother. He will contact me if you are ever in need of my help.”

Ari blinked. “Wait. A twenty-four-hour guard?” She shook her head. There was definitely no way she could explain his presence if he was hanging around all the time. Plus, she didn’t want him hanging around all the time. She couldn’t go from being a relatively solitary person to having some monosyllabic jinn guy attached to her hip. “I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, uh I do think so,” the Red King argued back in a comically immature fashion.

“No,” Ari replied adamantly. “It’s not like the dude can keep a twenty-four-hour watch on me, anyway. I have a car you know and I can leave his ass in the dust.”

The Red King raised an eyebrow at her remark and sighed, turning to Jai. “That reminds me. Put the mark on her. That’s why you were chosen.”

Jai glowered before giving the Red King a hesitant but deferential nod. He then stood up from slouching against the doorframe and strode toward her. Ari’s heart thumped at his approach, only now fully measuring the broad width of his shoulders. He was bigger than she’d first thought. Ari tried to back away from him. His hands shot out and he took hold of her upper arms with a firm grip.