The Seven Kings of Jinn

“You think that’s funny?” Charlie hissed between clenched teeth. “You think that’s fucking funny, Ari!”

Jai growled from beside her, standing up from his haunches to pad in front of her, guarding her. “Jai,” she begged. “Show him. Please.”

The Great Dane’s head turned to her, his enormous eyes indignant.

“Please, Jai.”

“You’ve gone nuts.” Charlie stumbled back from her. “Only sane person in my life and she’s gone nuts.”

“No!” Ari jumped up, terrified she was losing control of the situation. “Charlie, I’m telling you the truth, believe me. I know it sounds insane. I know. But it’s the truth. You didn’t kill Mike. One of the jinn did. Because of me. And I’m so sorry,” she choked. “I am so sorry. But I can prove it. The guardian I told you about. The jinn. Jai. That’s him.” She pointed at the Great Dane.

Charlie’s shoulders slumped, his face crumpling, his eyes glowing bright with unshed tears. “Ari, please.”

“It’s him!” she cried, turning on Jai. “Please. Help me.”

The dog stared at her for a minute more, and then the surrounding air shimmered. Ari released a breath of relief. Smokeless fire erupted, crackling and spitting, the heat licking Ari’s chilled skin. And then it dissipated, leaving Jai standing in its place.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “You owe me.”

“Holy fu—” Charlie gawked.

“Charlie.” Ari rushed at him, clasping his face in her hands. “Charlie.” She shook him until his shocked gaze unglued itself from Jai. “Charlie, I told you I’m telling the truth.”

“This is real?” he whispered, amazed, hurt, shocked, scared.

She nodded silently, caressing his cheek.

He jerked away from her and Ari felt the loss of him. “You’re… jinn? Jinn are real?”

“Apparently so.” She locked her jaw, trying not to cry at the coldness in his eyes.

That coldness suddenly melted into wrath. “And… that’s why Mike’s dead? It was what… what did you call it?”

“A labartu. They’re jinn that target kids. She was the cyclist that ran you off the road. It wasn’t your fault, Charlie.”

He gulped, trying to draw in air, and Ari reached for him, only to have him push her hand away. Heaving in rapid, jerky breaths, Charlie dropped his hands to his knees and tucked his head into his chest as he tried to collect himself.

“Charlie,” she whispered desperately.

“Ari.” She felt Jai’s hand on her arm, attempting to pull her back.

Finally, Charlie straightened, his breathing still uneven, tears streaking his cheeks. When next he spoke, he didn’t even look at her. “Was it yours?”

Ari shook her head in incomprehension. “What?”

“Was it your fault?” he bit out.

Feeling the rip in her chest lengthen and deepen, Ari’s eyes blurred with tears. “I don’t know.”

Without another word, Charlie turned and strode out of the woods, leaving her there shivering in the aftermath of his unspoken blame.

Jai remained quiet for a whole five minutes, letting her gulp back the tears and gather herself. Her head felt too hot and her ears buzzed with disbelief. She could barely breathe. Her chest hurt so much from fear that she’d lost Charlie for good.

Finally, though, Jai sighed at her back. “I know you’re worried about him but we have bigger problems.”

Ari shook her head, unable to look at him. “You don’t understand.”

“You think you’re in love with him.”

“There’s no ‘think’ in that sentence.”

When he didn’t respond, Ari glanced back at him, trying not to let the defeat show in her eyes. “I guess you’re right about the bigger problems, though. So how do we exorcise one of the jinn?”

He shrugged. “You got Yellow Pages?”

“Seriously?”

Jai snorted. “Yes, Ari. There are Aissawa Exorcists in the Yellow Pages.”

Huffing, Ari walked away from him. “You really need to work on intonation when you use sarcasm. That way people will know when you’re being an asshole.”

“And you need to work on your gullibility.”

“I was under the impression you have no sense of humor, so forgive me for believing everything you say.”

“Well, that should be fun.”

“See!” she threw over her shoulder. “No intonation. Jeez, Jai, drop the monotone.”

Stepping in stride beside her, he sighed as if he were dealing with an infant. “You were less annoying when I was invisible.”

“I think that says more about you than me.” When she glanced up at him for a reaction, Ari was surprised to see something spark in his eyes. It was as though he was enjoying himself. The ache in her chest refused to ease, but for a moment, as they shared a long look, she had to work hard not to give him a sad smile.

Abruptly, Jai cleared his throat, and looked ahead. “I take it you want an Aissawa Exorcist for your friend Nick?”

“I would say yes if I knew what an Aissawa Exorcist was.”

“The Aissawa Brotherhood are experts in exorcising homes, buildings, material goods and people that the jinn have possessed. I’ll make a call.”