“You need any help?” Charlie and Trey offered in unison, taking a step towards the threesome in the doorway.
Jack grunted, raising a sardonic eyebrow. “I feel so loved.”
Charlie’s chuckle was caught short when he saw the quizzical look Falon shot Jack. She tilted her head, her gaze searching and Jack frowned at her until she snapped her gaze away.
“You okay?” Charlie asked her, glancing back at Jack.
She nodded carefuly, and then seeming to shrug whatever weirdness had come over her off, Falon stood on her tiptoes, giving him a brief kiss on the lips. He returned it, although his whole body felt tense as the awkwardness of the situation burned through him. He shot Ari a look but she was busy giving Trey a hug goodbye and explaining that their assignment was at a high school in Connecticut and they shouldn’t be gone long. Falon had told him that Ari knew about the casual relationship they had going on. She even said Ari was cool about it al; to be honest, that kind of pissed Charlie off, considering he stil bristled any time Jai stood too close to Ari.
Like now for instance.
“We’re going with a team,” Ari assured them, her fingers brushing against Jai’s as she moved.
As Charlie glared at her guardian, Trey was clapping Jai on the back. “Cal me if you need me.”
“Wil do,” Jai replied gruffly.
“You know I think he’s straight.” Jack cut a mocking look at Trey, eyeing how close he was standing to Jai. “Wrong tree you’re barking up.”
Surprise – more like shock – shot through Charlie at Jack’s uncharacteristic commentary. As he looked around he saw they were al a little surprised. His tone. The way he said it… it sounded like… no. Charlie shook his head. Never mind.
Trey was the only one who just laughed. “Don’t worry, Jack. I know what trees to bark at.”
Something was going on with Jack and Trey, and Ari wanted to know what. There was a definite vibe there, she mused. Her earlier scare over the Seal had dissipated as her worry turned to Charlie. Had Trey discovered something? Was Jack helping Charlie do something he shouldn’t?
Just as she opened her mouth to bluntly ask what was going on, fire erupted into the room in an explosion of aggressive color and noise. The White King strode out of the flames, his dark gaze narrowed on Ari.
“What have you done?” he growled, striding slowly towards her with violent intent. “How did you release her?” A bolt of his magic missed Ari by a hairsbreadth.
Before Ari could form a thought or make a move Jai’s hand came at her, pushing her out of the way with enough force to send her flying to the ground. She landed on her ass with a painful wince, splinters from Jack’s rough hardwood floor biting into her hands as she gazed up at Jai who had thrown back his arm as if he were pitching a basebal. A huge bal of ember glowed above his palm and he pitched it with a fierce growl at White. Taken by surprise, Jai’s magic hit White and he stumbled back, wincing as the ember shimmered into him, seeming to freeze him in place for a second. It was enough time for Jai to rush him, both hands pushed out towards him, his energy pulsating out in an invisible battering ram that lifted White off his feet and sent him careening into one of Jack’s glass cabinets.
“Get out!” Jai turned to them al, ushering Falon and Charlie from the room, Trey striding behind them, his eyes pinned to White until they were out.
Ari stumbled to her feet as White picked shards of glass out of his chest and hands, blood staining his silk white robes.
“Ari, get out of here.” Jai grabbed a hold of her arms in a painful grip, shaking her towards the exit. He shot a look at Jack who was standing with his legs braced, staring balefuly at White. “You too, Jack!”
The door slammed shut as White stood to his feet, brushing at glittering pieces of glass. He cocked his head at Jai, who shoved Ari behind him. “No one else is going anywhere. First, you,” he pointed at Jai, “Are going to die. And then Ari is going to be painfuly tortured until she tels me where Sala is and how on Mount Qaf she managed to free the bitch?”
What? Ari gasped, and tried to push Jai out of the way but he wouldn’t budge. “What are you talking about?” she asked, stil shoving at Jai until he grasped her wrist, sending a burn of his magic through her. It froze her and she gaped at him in horror.
To stop you from doing anything stupid, he telepathed apologeticaly.
“So you are going to deny it?” White asked quietly, his soft words just a puttering hiss of a volcano about to erupt. “You deny stealing into my palace and freeing Sala from the bottle? You deny placing her essence inside as a stopper to mask the taste of the Ifrit you replaced her with so that I would be fooled into thinking it was Sala stil inside?”
Yelow, reds and wondrous golds flickered into the air near Jack who was stil standing quietly watching. Out of the flames stepped The Red King and if Ari could have sagged in relief, she would have.
“Of course Ari would deny it, brother,” he answered as if he’d been standing there al along. He took a step towards The White King, his own expression just as blank. “She had nothing to do with it. Glass and I replaced Sala years ago.”
This time, White could not mask his fury. “You did what?”
Red smirked at him. It was cold. It made Ari shiver and she realized Jai’s magic had worn off. She pinched him in retaliation and took a step forward. Jai grabbed her hand, not using his magic against her, but himself. His fingers intertwined with hers and he practicaly suffocated her in to his side as they watched and listened.
“Did you realy think I would let you keep Sala locked in a bottle?”
White shook his head slowly, as if in disbelief. “You believe that an Ifrit with the gifts of a Lilif can love, Red? That she loved you? You fool. You fool who would take what was mine.”
“She wasn’t yours,” Red argued smoothly.