“Unconscious. They were attacked.” Jai exhaled slowly, his voice deep and somber as he said, “Derek was killed.”
Heartbreak for his friend sank into his very bones and he felt stiff and cold as he replied, “I’ll be right there.”
Charlie was barely in the door at Ari’s when he noticed Jai giving him a funny look. His eyes bore into him and the air of intimidation that wafted off of the jinn made Charlie wish for an extra inch of height, even though he was already a little over six feet tall.
“You look different,” Jai said, his eyes narrowed, a hint of mockery in them.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed by his new look, Charlie rubbed a hand over his shorn head and shrugged. He’d cut off his shaggy hair and it was now close-shaven like Jai’s. The barber shop was next to the tattoo parlor in town and in a moment of utter over-confidence (when he thought his sorcerer powers would make themselves apparent at any moment) he’d had a tattoo inked around his right wrist. He self-consciously moved his hand from his hair to his wrist. “I was bored.”
“What’s the tat say?” Jai tilted his head to the side, trying to get a better look.
Charlie straightened his shoulders, lifting his gaze to meet Jai’s directly. “Justice, in Arabic.”
For a moment, Jai’s face was deadly serious and he appeared to be measuring Charlie carefully. Finally, after a moment of taut silence, Jai smirked at him. “Did you get the translation online?”
Bracing himself for a smart comment, Charlie shrugged, not wanting to feed him food for mockery.
“Let me see it. It might say ‘I love my cat’ or something.”
“Whatever,” Charlie growled back, but he held out his hand anyway. Jai grabbed it a little too roughly and Charlie cut him a dirty look. The jinn was unmoved by Charlie’s attempt at intimidation. “Well?”
Jai nodded. “It says justice. Luckily for you. You know you can’t trust online translations.”
“I’m not stupid, I checked it out on several sites.”
Were they really talking about his tattoo when Ari’s dad was… gone?
As if reading his thoughts, Jai grew serious again. “Ari’s upstairs with her uncle. She was still unconscious when he brought her here.”
They stood together as Jai filled him in on what he imagined went down in Vickers Woods and then what had happened afterward. Shaking a little, Charlie walked slowly into the sitting room, his gaze snagging on a photograph of Ari and Derek in their backyard playing softball. Charlie had taken the photograph years ago. Pain clawed at his chest and knocked the wind right out of him. Derek was gone. How the hell was Ari going to deal with that?
“So you were bored?” Jai asked, following him into the room.
Charlie nodded, glad for the distraction. “I thought I’d feel different, be able to do stuff, but so far, nothing.”
The jinn eyed him flatly. “Sorcerers need talismans to power their energy, natural metals and stones. Unless they’re defending themselves—oh shit.” Jai sighed heavily, running a hand over his short hair. Charlie noted the guardian had a habit of doing that when he was in a situation he didn’t want to be in. Which was a lot. “I suppose I better tell you what I just told Ari.”
Charlie listened as Jai explained how magic use had consequences; how, unless the jinn were defending themselves or using specific abilities born to them, they had to pull objects from other places. It sounded a little like stealing, and Charlie knew right away that Ari had not taken this news very well. He smiled evilly at the jinn, hoping that for once he was in Ari’s bad books. The relationship between Jai and Ari bothered Charlie. When Jai wasn’t looking, Charlie had caught Ari watching the jinn with something he’d never seen in her eyes before and when Ari wasn’t looking, Charlie had caught Jai watching Ari with a look in his eyes that Charlie knew all too well. Jai could deny it until his face turned blue, but Charlie knew Jai had feelings for Ari. “Ari must be pretty pissed at you right about now.”
“Right about now I think she’s awakening to discover her dad is dead.”
Cursing under his breath and feeling ashamed for the millionth time, Charlie shook his head. Thinking of Ari and how she’d handle losing her dad, Charlie sank into a chair and eyed the room. “I never really understood Derek,” he admitted.
“Oh?”
He shrugged and looked over at Jai, who mirrored his actions, lowering into a chair. He looked genuinely interested, and Charlie wondered if the feelings Jai had for Ari were more than physical. “Derek always kept Ari at a distance. Even when we were kids. It was like he loved her but was afraid to, you know.”
They were silent a moment. Ari’s dad was dead. She would feel all alone. But she wasn’t. He wouldn’t let that happen to her.