The Seven Kings of Jinn

Feeling better, Ari reached over and placed the book on the nightstand, and when she glanced back at Jai, she remembered what she’d read about his race in the book. She raised a questioning eyebrow. “So you’re a telepath, huh? What’s that about?”

Chapter 14

There are some things

even a dog shouldn’t know

Jai was frustratingly vague about the whole telepathy thing and would only answer one of her questions — could jinn read minds? Ari’s heart spluttered in mortification at the thought of Jai being able to read her thoughts. Thankfully, he promised her the jinn could not mindread and then promptly laid down on his sleeping bag and turned off the lights with his jinn voodoo.

The next morning, Ari tried not to think about the book and all she’d discovered. Her dad was in his office, still not talking to her, and Rachel was on her way over to ‘make up’. When the doorbell rang, it jerked Ari out of her daze—she’d been staring stupidly at the book on her nightstand, the haunting pages of it rolling around in her mind like spooky little ghosts. Jai came out of the bathroom with questioning eyes. She nodded to let him know Rachel was at the door and the surrounding air shimmered before he exploded into a fire that quickly burned out, leaving behind Hamlet the Great Dane.

The knock on her bedroom door told Ari her dad had let Rachel in. Bracing herself, Ari sat down on her bed. “Come in,” she called out and smirked with amusement as Jai jumped onto her bed beside her, curling up lazily on the comforter. Rachel entered the room tentatively, an apologetic smile on her face as she closed the bedroom door behind her.

“I come in peace,” she said.

“Come in, sit down.” Ari shimmied over, nudging Jai to make room for her.

Rachel’s face lit up at the sight of the Dane. “Oh my God, who is this enormous bundle of gorgeousness?”

Ari smiled, swearing she could hear Jai make a snorting sound from the back of his throat. “This is Hamlet. He’s replaced Ms. Maggie.”

Rachel’s shoulders hunched as she glanced around the room. “Is the poltergeist gone?”

“Yup. All gone.”

“For good?”

“Looks like. So I got Hamlet here to keep me company.”

Rachel giggled and sat down next to him, running her hands over his head and back. “Oh, I so prefer Hamlet. And how cute is that name btw?” She grinned up at her. “Very witty.”

Ari laughed. “At least one person thinks so.”

“Oh so cute,” Rachel squeed, pressing soft kisses to his head. Jai didn’t growl or snarl, but he attempted to desperately evade her lips. When Ari laughed at his predicament, he shot her a dirty doggy look in protest. Finally, taking pity on him, she reached out and touched Rachel’s arm. “So are we okay?” she asked.

Rachel looked up, still patting Jai’s head. Ari could see the confusion in her eyes, but she nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know what happened to you, but… the reason I got so mad was because I knew it was a Charlie thing. I thought you were freaking out about him. You were so out of it at your own party, and I just felt frustrated, you know. I was so worried about you. I’m sorry for not handling it the right way, Ari. I really am.” She smiled apologetically. “But since then, Staci said you’re taking my advice and moving on from him, so whatever those two missing days were, they were at least a very good thing.” She reached out to pull Ari into a hug. “I’m proud of you.”

For thinking I abandoned a friend?

When Rachel pulled back, Ari smoothed the scowl from her face and put a fake smile on in its place. “So have you heard any more news from Stace about Nick?”

“Oh, he’s going to be alright. The doctors can’t work it out. There’s no physical sign of injury, external or internal. It’s just this weird phenomenon. So weird. I feel bad for him, but you know he’s alive, he’s young and fit and he can get through this. We’ll all be there to help him. Although, not yet.” She frowned. “His parents are being weird about visitors right now.”

“Is A.J. still mad at Charlie?”

“I don’t think so. He’ll never like the guy, but Staci convinced him that Charlie was just there at the wrong time, wrong place. Although I hear he was going to take Nick to the ER, so that’s, like, a point in his favor, right?”

“Right.”

“So anyway!” Rachel suddenly cried, her mouth stretched in a cat’s-got-the-cream grin. “You have to hear about my time with Paul Schwartz.”

“Uh.” Ari looked down at Jai, who listened to everything they said. She really didn’t want Rachel discussing her love life with the T.A. in front of him. “You hooked up, that’s great. Any plans to see him again?”