“I think I can handle it,” Jai replied gruffly, his eyes sparking a little too brightly with unnamed emotion as they searched Ari’s flushing face.
“You know, your epic non-romance is starting to piss me off.”
“That’s funny.” Jai shot Falon one of his scariest glowers. “Because you’re starting to piss me off.”
Falon just roled her eyes.
“Wel?” he asked. “Anything yet?”
Ari shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Not true,” Falon corrected her with a puckered brow. “You felt something earlier. Just because it wasn’t the art teacher doesn’t mean you didn’t feel something.”
“Oh now you tel me.”
Before Falon could answer with something completely smart ass, a blustering gust of wind ripped through the parking lot, blowing Ari’s hair back off her face.
Papers blew out of the loose folder Falon was carrying and messed up her short pixie haircut. Students cried out around them as they lost their hold on assignments, chip packets and other items.
That wasn’t what caused the blood to drain from Ari’s face, or Falon’s eyes to widen in recognition, or Jai’s whole body to tense as he stepped in front of her, guarding her.
With the wind had come the largest mass of Jinn power Ari had felt since meeting Azazil. But it wasn’t his power. That would have been familiar to her.
“You guys are feeling that right?” she asked, gazing over Jai’s shoulders and into the parking lot. Falon and Jai mirrored her, searching the crowds for the source.
As though her eyes were suckers, Ari’s zoomed through the crowds of students and cars to find the Jinn. And he wasn’t alone. One by one Ari found them, male and female Jinn standing in the crowds staring at her. There were at least fifteen of them, their expressions dark with intent.
“We’re surrounded,” Jai muttered having spotted them too in the half-circle they made around the three of them.
“Jai…?” Ari asked shakily, wondering how they hel they were going to get out of this without her activating the Seal. The last thing she should do was tap into that thing. It was too dangerous. Nothing... nothing was worth that risk.
Jai stepped back, his hand grabbing a hold of hers tightly. “They’ve found you. They know what you are.”
“The trial,” Ari breathed, “Because of the trial.”
“It doesn’t matter why, al that matters is getting you out of here.” Falon looked up at Jai, her expression fierce. “We can’t trigger the Seal. Not after what happened…” she trailed off, almost apologeticaly.
Ari nodded, ignoring the bite of hurt that nipped at her to know they al thought she might flip a switch and go crazy on them. “No, you’re right. But we’re all getting out of here.”
Jai’s anger was palpable, but seeing how determined she was he cursed under his breath, his brows creasing in concentration. After a second of alowing Ari’s panic to grow, his eyes flew upwards behind her.
She grabbed his arm. “What about the SUV? If we jump in that we could lead them away from the school, from the students…”
“They’d kil the engine,” Falon answered, shoving her suggestion aside impatiently. “We’d be sitting ducks.”
“The roof,” Jai murmured under his breath. “Ari and I are heading into the school and up onto that roof. Falon, they’re not here for you.” He placed his car keys in her hand. “Take my car, it’s closer than yours, and get back to the house. I’m going to take Ari somewhere safe and as soon as we get there, I’l cal to make sure it’s safe to return to the team.”
“Of course.”
“No, not of course,” Ari argued, disbelieving what she was hearing. “What if they’re waiting at the house? I can’t leave you to walk into that.”
“Ari,” Falon hissed, “If we let your ass fal into the hands of some sociopathic Jinn, we’re al dead anyway. Just stick with Jai and try to listen to him for once.”
The fact that Falon had referred to Jai by his actual name was enough to bring the severity of the situation crashing down on al of them. Before Ari had even nodded her approval of the plan, Falon was jumping into the SUV and Jai was hauling her by the wrist into the school. He shoved students out of his way, his expression sending the rest skittering out of their path.
“Why the roof?” Ari breathed, trying to keep up.
“Because I tested the Peripatos and the Jinn have combined their power to block the channel. They’re working together, Ari, which is worse than bad news.