Falon smirked at Jai before Ari could reply. “You’re going to have your work cut out for you playing possessive, jealous boyfriend, Gorgeous. Ari is a hit as Marissa.”
“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.
Nothing can come in or out around this fucking school.”
Jai was cursing. He was worried.
Ari gripped him tighter, her heart thudding in her chest as Jai suddenly cursed again, looking around bewildered. His strong arm reached out and grabbed the colar of a passing male student. “How do we get onto the roof?” he demanded.
The boy’s answer was lost to Ari. She was barely listening now as the thought of imminent battle with the Jinn set her panic at an al-time high. It wasn’t that she was afraid to fight. She’d fought the Jinn before and lived to see another day. It was that the Seal was reacting so badly now, pushing through and dominating her. She couldn’t let the Seal have control and already she felt its ugly darkness churning to wakefulness in her chest.
As Jai dragged her up a narrow empty staircase it suddenly dawned on Ari why they were heading for the roof. “Oh God,” she bit out. “You want us to fly.”
“Ari, keep it together, baby,” he growled. “I know you hate flying, but right now I just need you to concentrate on keeping a lid on the Seal. Okay?”
“Being patronizing won’t help me keep the lid on it,” Ari growled, tugging her hand out of his as they stepped out onto the roof. The wind was stronger up here and it provided a great view of the town, and the four Jinn standing behind Jai. “Oh crap.”
At her widened eyes, Jai spun around, his reflexes fast as he swiped a hand across the air in time to deflect a wave of magical energy. Ember burned in his left palm and he threw it at one of the Jinn, who did as Jai had done and created a shield that the magic bounced off of.
“Ari, defense!” he reminded her to use her defensive magic against the enemy as he strode towards the Jinn, blocking their magic with one hand and attacking with the other. Al four were intent on Jai though, having garnered he was her guardian and needed to be taken out.
Wel, Ari wouldn’t let that happen.
Doing as Jai had taught in training, Ari concentrated until she felt her own Jinn energy. It was like listening for her heartbeat. Once she found it, she could control it with her emotions. And her emotions were raging right now.
Pushing the energy towards her hand, she let it build up until it blossomed in her palm into a weapon. With a scream of outrage, she threw it and it clipped the shoulder of one of the female Jinn who was crowding towards Jai. Seeing the beads of sweat drip down Jai’s face as he fought off four against one clawed at Ari and immediately woke up the Seal. Its whispers curled around her veins and Ari had to take a moment to push it back down.
A moment that almost cost her.
She ducked from the bal of energy that flew at her and summoned the Cloak. Invisibility wrapped around her and Ari moved at a speed she would never have thought herself capable of until Jai had shown her how. In seconds she was behind the female, her hand slamming down like a hammer into the back of her neck as Jai had trained her.
The female Jinn crumpled at her feet and Ari jumped over her in triumph, heading for the next Jinn. Ari charged at the male Jinn she’d marked to attack. At the speed she was going, it was incredibly painful as he intercepted her attack, grasping her neck, and successfuly puling her out of the Cloak. At a little over six foot, the Jinn was built like a tank, his dark eyes hidden under an overhanging brow that screamed ‘invincible caveman!’ He certainly felt invincible as he threw her to the concrete paving of the roof, her teeth breaking the skin on her bottom lip as her head slammed back and down again with enough force to kil an ordinary girl. The world spun, and Ari felt her limbs loosen as the Seal shoved its own into them. As it took control, Ari watched through the blur as Jai snapped the neck of the first Jinn who’d attacked just seconds before a blast of the other two’s combined energy sent him soaring back into the roof exit with such force his whole body just crumpled to the ground.
As Ari/the Seal was about to command them al to stop, flames exploded behind one of the two remaining male Jinn. Ari’s astonishment at the sight before her
caused the Seal to lose control of her. She struggled to sit up as Sala appeared out of the flames. Without a moment’s hesitation Sala smashed a fist of glowing ember through the chest of the shorter attacker and yanked out his heart. His body hadn’t even folded in on itself when she dropped his heart to hold up both hands, this incredible energy pulsating out of them at the goliath who’d knocked Ari on her ass. He shook quietly, horrifyingly, as if he was being silently electrocuted, and then he fel on top of the dead Jinn.
Sala twisted around to gaze down at Ari, her long hair whipping in the wind, her red dress matching the blood dripping from her hand. “He’s a Marid so he’s not dead. And he’s strong so you need to go.”
“The other…” Ari gestured to the Jinn Sala had so effortlessly ripped the heart out of.
Striding over to her with determination and violence in her eyes, Sala puled Ari to her feet. “I’m older than he was, sweetheart. No time to explain. Get Jai,” she shot a worried look over at Jai who was groaning as he shakily drew himself up off the ground, “And leave.”
“Thank you,” Ari whispered, not sure what else to say.
Sala gave her a weak smile. “I told you I’d always be watching over you. Now go.” She pushed her towards Jai and then stepped back into the Cloak before Ari could say another word.
