Scorched Skies (7 page)

Before Mike, before everything went to hell, Charlie had had these big plans for him and Ari. They would finish school, maybe take a year out to travel together, and then come back home and go to the same college, maybe get an apartment together. Before Mike, Ari had been Charlie
’
s world. He
’
d watched her turn into this awesome girl and God, he didn
’
t think he
’
d ever meet anyone as beautiful as her. He wasn
’
t the only one who noticed. Guys at school had started asking him if they were together because if not they wanted to ask her out. The possessiveness, the jealousy that had torn through him woke him up and he
’
d realized then that he wanted Ari to be his and only his. Her sixteenth birthday was supposed to be the night it all happened. She
’
d known it was coming, he
’
d made it pretty obvious by talking about their future a lot in those weeks running up to it, and Charlie had been gratified to see that she wanted to be with him too. Such grand plans. To protect her like he
’
d always done, to take care of her and never neglect her like Derek had. But then Mikey happened… and Charlie hated himself so much he couldn
’
t bear it. He
’
d needed everyone else to hate him too.

But Ari wouldn
’
t.

He pushed her away, kept her at arm
’
s length, and yet she
’
d still loved him. He
’
d pushed harder. For a while she dated a couple of other guys and that had killed him to watch but he
’
d convinced himself otherwise. He
’
d drowned himself inside countless other girls, using them deplorably, not even really aware of anything but the need to disappear for a while.

And then the relief to discover he wasn
’
t responsible for Mike
’
s death. Relief replaced the pain. Revenge replaced the hate. Discovering the truth about Ari, that she was some important mystical weapon in a Jinn war, didn
’
t faze him. OK. It was weird. And it had taken time to adjust, but once he came to terms with the facts about everything, it didn
’
t change the way he felt about her. He wanted to protect her again. And this time he wanted the means to be able to do it. The power the Marid had given him would aid him in hunting and killing the Labartu that had killed Mike. And after that, he
’
d use those powers to help safeguard Ari.

Charlie grunted. That
’
s if the powers he
’
d been granted ever decided to make an appearance.

When the Marid had first given him the powers he
’
d felt the surge of energy crash into his body in glorious heat. But now… nothing. Had The Red King lied to him? Had it been a test? Had he failed? Anger choked him at the thought as he watched his father grunt in his drunken stupor. He needed the powers to be real. He needed revenge.

And he wanted Ari to call him back.

When his cellphone buzzed in his back pocket, Charlie
’
s heart lurched in hope and he fumbled for it, pulling it out and grinning when he saw Ari
’
s picture on the caller ID. “Ari,” he breathed in relief as he answered.

“It
’
s Jai,” a familiar gravelly and very male voice replied, instead of Ari
’
s husky feminine one. “I have bad news.”

Charlie
’
s heart literally stopped and he found himself poised over a precipice he knew he
’
d tumble over and into the black if Jai told him something that meant he
’
d never hear Ari
’
s voice again.

“You there?”

“I
’
m here,” he managed, the blood whooshing in his ears.

“Charlie… you better get over here. It
’
s Derek.”

His heart slowed a little but the uneasiness that had wound its way into his muscles didn
’
t leave. “What
’
s happened? Where
’
s Ari?”

“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 succeeded in making 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, he always was, and it was starting to rub him the wrong way. “Well?” he snapped.

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 a number of 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 afterwards. Shaking a little, Charlie walked slowly into the sitting room, his eyes catching 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 generally need talismans to power their energy, natural metals and stones. Unless they
’
re defending themselves… oh man.” 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.”

Leaning against one of the shelving units, his arms crossed over his chest, not wanting to sit down and lose advantage over the Jinn, 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 had mirrored his actions, lowering himself to 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, the pall in the air growing thicker as reality developed from words into the physical. Ari
’
s dad was dead. She would feel all alone. But she wasn
’
t. He wouldn
’
t let that happen to her.

As if reading his thoughts, Jai
’
s deep voice cut through the room, “Why did you do it, Charlie? The sorcerer wish. And who did it? Surely you know that whoever it was has an agenda all their own?”

“I
’
m not stupid. I realize that… that the Jinn who helped me will want something from me in return. But I finally have a chance to do something about what happened to Mike. I don
’
t feel powerless anymore.”
Just tired of being questioned and eyed like I
’
m some kind of criminal.

“Revenge will get you killed.”

“It might, yeah.”