Of Wish and Fury (Seven Kings of Jinn)

Jai flew at the first jinn, eyes blazing, his fist ramming up in an uppercut. He spun around, taking a human out with a spinning hook kick Charlie had always admired in martial arts movies.

A fist came out of the group and connected with Jai’s face.

Seeming to push both Charlie and Fallon’s buttons, they raced forward. Fallon unleashed an enchantment Charlie hadn’t mastered yet, and one of the jinn fell to his knees, choking as his throat closed. Charlie came face to face with one human who held a knife.

He waited.

He didn’t have to wait long.

The man swiped out at him with his knife, his shorter arm not connecting as Charlie slid back on the balls of his feet to avoid the cut. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and sharpened his reflexes. At the attack, Charlie felt his defensive magic ignite within him, the rush almost flooring him before he gained control. Using his defensive magic to fuel the gold piece he wore around his neck, the piece that Jack had gifted him, Charlie concentrated on melting the knife and watched with amazement and overwhelming satisfaction as the man cried out in pain as the knife heated and softened in his hand. He let go, jumping back from the weapon, and Charlie kicked out, his long leg connecting with the man’s solar plexus. The guy stumbled backward, his face turning red with pain. Not needing to move any closer to hit him, Charlie pulled an elbow back and punched out, pushing his magic into the air and creating a pocket that smacked the guy square on the nose. Blood gushed from his nose, but still he didn’t go down. Hearing the skirmish beside him, the sound of Fallon’s faint cry, Charlie threw an uppercut, the pocket of magic connecting with the attacker’s chin.

The attacker’s eyes rolled back in his head, and his body collapsed against the wall.

Out for the count.

Burning up with the rush, Charlie spun around to help, only to find Fallon taking down the other human, his body limp on the tiled floor. Three unconscious jinn laid beside him. Charlie eyed one of them and noted his chest wasn’t rising and falling. Okay, possibly dead. Charlie swallowed, stunned.

“Well done,” the Red King said briskly, blowing past them and into the elevator. “Very entertaining. Get in!”

They hurried inside, all of their nerves jangling from the fight and the desperate need to get to Ari.

The doors pinged open, and Charlie blinked against the blinding white of the lab. As his eyes adjusted, he noted the Red King had already taken down two people by the time they’d stepped out of the elevator. He knew he should fear the guy, but he was just too impressed.

In his quick sweep, Charlie noted the lab was well-stocked. Two girls were strapped to chairs that resembled dentist chairs, their skin pale and waxy, their eyes closed either in sleep or death. Neither were Ari. His stomach flipped.

“There!” Fallon shouted, her finger pointed toward the far corner of the lab. They all swung around, following her frantic gaze.

Ari was strapped up in a chair, just like the other girls. Charlie’s heart stopped. Was she dead? At a flicker of movement at the top of his vision, Charlie’s gaze shot past her. A tall guy tapped a code into a box on the wall next to a door.

Dalí?

“He’s getting away!” Fallon cried, her face tight with anger.

“Leave him!” The Red King shouted, confirming it was indeed Dalí.

Fallon wasn’t listening. She took off toward the sorcerer, jumping over spilled containers, slipping on… blood…

Charlie’s face paled as he looked closer at Ari. She was hooked up to a blood bag. There were spills of it all around her, a container full of it. What the hell had he done to her?

“Fallon!” Red yelled, but she ignored him and a pulse of magic shot out of her as she blasted Dalí back against the wall, just as the door opened. Another blast shut the door, trapping him in the room with them. Dalí eyed her wearily and Charlie’s heart sputtered at the sight of an emerald glinting as it swung from a black rope around his neck.

Charlie chanced a glance at Jai, but he only had eyes for Ari.

“What did he do?” Jai muttered, stunned fear written all over his face. He did not resemble the usually in-control guardian Charlie had come to know.

Red shook his head, striding toward Ari. “He’s tried to drain her blood. He thought he could use it to power her gift through his talismans.”

“Leave her!” the sorcerer yelled as the Red King unstrapped Ari. A slap cracked around the room, and Dalí’s head snapped back from Fallon’s invisible punch. His eyes narrowed on the young hunter and he shook his head regretfully. “You should have let me go. You don’t want to play this game with me.”