Borrowed Ember (7 page)

“It would appear so. How else could you know such things?”

“How is it possible? Why do I know this stuff? Why am I dreaming about it? What does it mean?”

The Red King held up a hand to quiet her. “I have no idea. Leave this with me, Ari. I wil find out but I wil have to tread very carefuly here. Tel no one else what you have told me here today.”

Despite her impatience, despite the ugly darkness in her chest wiling her to take a stand and force Red to find out everything he could as soon as possible – the consequences be damned – Ari took control of herself. Taking deep, even breaths, Ari struggled for calm and eventualy gained it.

“So what now?” Charlie asked quietly.

Flicking her gaze over her friend, Ari felt another wave of relief that he was here in the mortal realm and in one piece. “How would you feel about joining to the Roes?”

He smiled slowly, nodding. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Ari winced, seeing the excitement starting to burn in his eyes. Charlie was clearly desperate to get back to Jack and his training. She hoped to get a moment alone with him soon to get a better understanding of where his head was at. Ari was stil clinging to the hope that after the fright of a Jinn trial, he had finaly put his need for vengeance behind him.

“Red,” she turned to her uncle slowly, “Can you talk to The Guild? Make sure we’d be welcome there. As hunters, I mean.”

“You want to hunt?”

“I’m sick of waiting for crap to happen to me. I want to be the one that the bad guy fears for a change.”

Silence greeted her and then the three of them snorted. Jai at least tried to cover his laughter but it was too late. She saw.

“What?” she snapped. “Bad guys wil fear me.”

“Not at first,” Red disagreed, stil smiling. “But your appearance wil act in your favor. They won’t be expecting your kind of power.”

Somewhat molified, but not completely, Ari listened quietly as Jai discussed the plans for the next few days. Red would take Charlie to the Roe’s and explain that they would be staying as part of The Guild for an indefinite period of time (apparently Red didn’t
ask
, he
commanded
) and that Ari wished to be trained as a hunter. In the meantime, Ari would accompany Jai back to his tribe here in L.A. to explain he would be MIA for a while. Jai tried to insist one last time that Ari didn’t need to come with him, but Ari was adamant. After everything she’d discovered about his upbringing under the rule of Luca Bitar, Ari was in no way letting Jai venture back into that world without her support.

7 -
My Heat hits her Ice and the Snow Falls

Crap.

Ari gazed around her wide-eyed, surprised to find that she and Jai had flown through the
Peripatos
to Luca Bitar’s office, only to find that it was already ful. Seated in a semi-circle around the room and standing behind chairs that had been set up in front of Luca’s desk, was a whole bunch of people she didn’t recognize along with two people she did—Nicki and David Bitar. Luca was standing in front of his desk, his eyes alert as Ari and Jai turned around to face him.

Jai gave his father a deferential nod. “Apologies, Father. I forgot that you would be holding a tribe meeting at this time.”

Oh. Ari inched a little closer to her boyfriend, her skin prickling from the heat of the group’s gaze. This was a Ginnaye tribe meeting. It was so… classroom-like.

“Apology accepted.” Luca frowned, glancing warily between his son and Ari. “Has something happened?”

Knowing that only Luca, Nicki and Tarik were aware of Ari’s true nature, she wasn’t surprised when Jai replied, “May we speak in private?”

“Of course.” Luca glanced around them to eye his wife. “I’l be back in five minutes. Excuse us.”

Ari could feel the tribe’s curiosity hit her in waves as she folowed Jai and Luca from the room. She surreptitiously looked for Trey in the crowd but didn’t see him.

Disappointment flooded her knowing Jai had wanted to say goodbye to his friend.

It wasn’t until the door had closed behind them and they were standing in the black and white checkered halway that Ari thought Jai might want to be alone to tel his father that he was leaving indefinitely on this assignment. She cleared her throat, drawing the two men to a stop. They both turned to stare back at her in the exact same predatory motion. Ari shuddered for Jai. He was so much his father’s son in some ways. She just hoped Jai knew that he was al the good things and none of the bad.

“I… uh… I’l let you guys talk alone. I’l take a little walk.”

Jai frowned. “You sure?”

“Yeah. I’l be fine.” She waved him off and watched as he reluctantly turned to folow his father. She waited until they had disappeared around the corner.

What now? Ari threw the door to Luca’s office a wary look. No way was she going back in there. Relaxing, Ari let her feet do the thinking and she wandered quietly through the Bitar mansion, glad she and Jai were only dropping by for a few minutes. She hadn’t exactly enjoyed her last stay with the Bitars. Jai kept pushing her away, Nicki was a bitch, Luca had dared to warn her off Jai, and Jai’s brother had tried to attack her, and she’d ended up using the power of the Seal against him. Yay. The one bright spot out of the entire visit had been Trey.

And okay… she wasn’t going to lie. The make-out with Jai in the club bathroom in L.A. had been pretty hot too until he’d gotten al uptight about it.

“Oh,” Ari breathed, as she took in where her wandering mind and feet had brought her. She was standing in the treasure room, the one that housed the hourglass of Shakespeare – the symbol of the point in time Azazil had broken the rules and turned back time to right Shakespeare’s destiny after White messed it up. Teruze, the Jinn who guarded the Bitar treasure, stood guardian within his red bottle in the corner and Ari could feel his strong energy pulsing out at her. She shivered a little, realizing he’d be watching her to make sure she didn’t steal anything. But Ari clearly wasn’t interested in stealing anything. She had been drawn here for one reason only.

The painting of Lilif.

In her last visit Ari had discovered the dark painting of the Lilif and had been amazed by the likeness between Lilif in the painting and the one in her dreams. That’s when she realized she may actualy be dreaming about the real Jinn. Taking tentative steps towards the painting, Ari narrowed her eyes, wishing she knew exactly what al the dreams meant and wondering if Red realy would divulge the truth about it once he found out.

“He’s not capable of love you know.”

Heart in her throat Ari whirled around at the unfamiliar voice, and her eyes widened as they took in Yasmin Lenz. She’d seen the girl once before. An exotic beauty, Yasmin was a guardian and daughter to Luca Bitar’s best friend, Hugo. She was also someone Jai had used (intimately) to get back at Hugo for cheating on Luca with Nicki. Something Luca stil knew nothing about as far as Jai was aware. Ari was shocked and angry at Jai for using Yasmin, but he’d told her how cruely Yasmin had treated him, and although Ari wished he hadn’t used her as a tool for revenge, she also didn’t feel particularly bad for the young Ginnaye. “Excuse me?” Ari asked cautiously.

The tal, dark-haired beauty took a few more long-legged steps forward. She was so sophisticated and confident. Feral and predatory. Everything Ari wasn’t. She scowled, trying not to think about Jai with this supermodel. “I said… Jai is not capable of love.” At Ari’s silence, Yasmin smirked. “Oh please, everyone with eyes can see the way you look at him.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh but I do.” Yasmin nodded. “I see the attraction, I do. He’s beautiful and broken and very powerful. I spent months learning every inch of him. I know him better than anybody and he stil threw me away.”

Ari tensed, feeling a shift inside her chest. That familiar ache sharpened and began to uncoil, its dark whip of a tail wagging in anticipation of lashing out at this cruel beauty. She scoffed, trying to keep her composure. “Puhlease. You care more about your tribe than you ever cared about Jai and he knew it. You had the hots for him and were using him. He hates Hugo. He was using you to get at him. But you’re delusional if you think you ever got to
know
him.”

Yasmin chuckled, seeing how much she’d gotten to Ari. Her eyes flashed wickedly. “Oh you’ve got it bad. I wish I could be there to see him crush you. You might think you can save him, Ari, but I was there… I know what his family has done to him. And in the end, he’l remember that you’re just a kid. And he’l come running back to a woman who knows exactly what to do in the bedroom.” Her gaze drew dreamy, her skin flushed. “I love how he makes this shuddery, breathy noise when he–”

“Shut up,” Ari bit out, the whip lashing out with the words. Too late, she realized her words had been a command.

Gaping back at her stupefied, Yasmin clutched at her throat unable to talk and the darkness within Ari enjoyed having power over her.

“You stood by and watched his family do that to him,” she growled, feeling this other self push her way into her tongue and limbs as she prowled towards Yasmin.

“You watched them break him and then had the audacity to ask something of him. But al he gave you was an empty shel. And that’s al he’l ever give you. You’re done hurting him. You’re al done hurting him. I command you to leave him alone.”

“Ari!”

Ari blinked rapidly at the sound of Jai’s voice, the other self folding back into her so Ari was back in control of herself. She stumbled back at the unexpected control, her heartbeat racing, a lump of sick disbelief in her throat as she gazed reluctantly up at Jai who was standing, gaping at her in horror. She winced, looking over his shoulder to see Luca by Yasmin’s side.

“Ari, what the hel did you do?” Jai whispered hoarsely.

She shook her head, desperate for him to understand. It hadn’t been her. She didn’t do this. She was…

I’m going crazy. I’m going crazy.

“Ari?”

She shook him off, stumbling back from him, the room spinning around her. She thought she was in control. She wasn’t in control. Oh crap.

Holy Macaroons just didn’t cut it. This was a holy fu-

Her thoughts were brought to a standstil by the squealing, choking noises Yasmin was making as she turned to Luca in a panic, stil unable to talk.

Horrified, Ari blurted out, “I command you to speak again.”

“Oh my… What the hel!” Yasmin shrieked in terror, her eyes wide on Ari. “What the hel is she? She’s not normal! She’s not right-”

“Calm yourself,” Luca snapped, grabbing the young woman by her arms. He cursed as she struggled and turned desperately to Ari. “You have to command her to

un-know what she knows, Ari. Now!”

Panic fluttering in her chest, Ari took a frantic step forward, ignoring Jai’s accusatory silence. “I command you, Yasmin Lenz, to never tel anyone, by any means of communication, of what happened here today between,” she glanced at her watch, “7.30 and 7.50pm. Ever.”

Yasmin’s mouth slammed shut and she shot Luca a look of anguished betrayal.

Luca, however, was frowning. “You sure you worded that right?”

Voice quiet and shaken, Ari explained, “If I’d worded it differently I might have left a loophole. This way she can’t bring up what she suspects about me without aluding to what happened in the last twenty minutes and she’s completely incapable of doing that now that I’ve commanded her otherwise.”

“Good.” Bitar turned to Yasmin. “Go back to my office. This is your own fault for interfering in something that had nothing to do with you.”

As soon as Yasmin was gone, Luca glared at Jai. “Yasmin Lenz. Realy?”

“Hugo deserved it.” Jai shrugged, stil unable it seemed to look at Ari.

Luca froze for a moment. “You know about Nicki.”

Jai stiffened and Ari gasped. Luca knew his wife had had an affair with Hugo Lenz? “You knew?”

“Of course I knew,” Luca replied bitterly. “I know everything that goes on in my tribe. And while I understand your motive was based on your sense of loyalty, I don’t appreciate your methods.”

Jai nodded, his jaw tight with tension. “It was over before it started.”

“Yes, wel… so was Hugo and Nicki’s affair.” Luca grew quiet before turning to eye Ari carefuly. “Try looking after Ms. Johnson without ‘looking after her’-”

“Father-”

“That’s al I wil say on the matter. Safe Guarding with the Roes. Goodbye.” He turned to Ari, his expression thoughtful. “Goodbye Ms. Johnson.”

Ari nodded her head in a vague gesture of goodbye and then sagged when he left. “Jai… I’m so sorry…I-”

“Stop.” Jai held up a hand, not looking at her. “We need to get the hel out of here.”

Feeling her chest squeeze in fear at his distant and cold tone, Ari asked softly, “What about Trey?”

“He’s on assignment. I’l cal him and let him know what’s happened.”

“Jai…” she tried again, her hand reaching out to gently brush his arm.

He stiffened, his shoulders hunching up to his ears. “Let’s just go.”

Fearful and anxious, Ari took a breath and fled into the
Peripatos
, heartbroken that she not only had to deal with the fact that the Seal was gaining more power over her, but also with the fact that Jai – unlike Ari – may be incapable of loving someone who was broken.

8 -
Hope Dies Last

The feel of Ari’s energy beside him distracted Jai. She stil trembled a little beside him and despite the way he had reacted (like an idiot) to her loss of control and use of the Seal, Ari stil edged close to him, seeking comfort.

Jai wasn’t mad at her. He knew that’s what she thought, but he wasn’t mad. He was scared for her, and he didn’t know what to do for her other than to keep a careful watch over her. And that only made him feel impotent and angry at
himself
.

Making Ari feel like crap wasn’t helping. She was scared already too. He didn’t want her to think she was in this alone and yet… that’s what he’d done. Why?

Jai nodded at the man who greeted him, but his face seemed so far away.

Ari was screwing him up. She was destroying his focus and filing his mind until there was nothing in it but her. And last night… He closed his eyes and bowed his head, remembering how it felt to have her in his arms. The softness of her skin, the brush of her gentle hands, the vanila scent that clung to her silky hair; the breathy sighs… her loving smiles.

Her ‘I love you’s’.

Longing coursed through Jai and it was dangerous. Dangerous and addictive and…

Why can’t I say it back?
He slanted a look at her out of the corner of his eye. She seemed steadier now as she addressed Michael Roe, Falon’s father and leader of the Roe Guild.

Stil… why?

You know why,
a vicious voice whispered in his head.

Nicki.

Jai clenched his hands in to fists, forcing the memory back… the one memory that scarred him more than al the others…

…
His stepmother Nicki Bitar stood sneering at him, her arms folded over her chest, her manicured nails tapping ominously on her upper arm. It signaled

violence. On her left stood her youngest Stephen. At ten years old he stood warily by his mother’s side. And on her right stood David, six years older than
Jai. An eighteen year old man-boy. He was grinning at Jai with anticipation and bloodlust in his eyes.

Nicki eyed the man holding him. Twenty year old Tarik whose strong hands were gripping him so tightly there was no way the much younger Jai could get

out of his hold. “Don’t let him go, son. Stephen and David are going to take their turns punishing the boy for bruising David in training.”

Jai pulled again at the arms gripping his. “We were training!” he yelled indignantly.

“Really, mom.” Tarik sighed. “If David let’s himself get taken unawares by a twelve year old, he deserves the bruise. Can we just let this go?”

Nicki’s eyes flashed in outrage. “No! If you love me, you will stay and see the boy punished.”

“Fine. Let’s get this over with. I have a life you know.”

“Stephen,” Nicki pushed her youngest forward. “You first.”

Eyeing his half-brother with something akin to horror, Stephen shook his head and turned to look back at Nicki. “Mom, do I have to?”

“Yes,” she hissed. “I told you he’s a bad boy. He deserves this.”

“But I don’t want to.”

“For the love of…” David sighed and stepped forward, taking a grip of his younger brother’s wrist. He tugged him roughly over to Jai and guided his

hand back before cracking it across Jai’s face. The sting of the smack flared up his left cheek and he closed his eyes, feeling the heat follow in its wake.

“See!” David smirked. “Now do it yourself but this time punch him. If you don’t… I’ll punch you.”

When no rebuke came from his mother, Stephen turned back to Jai with tears in his eyes. He punched out but it barely grazed Jai’s chin.

“That was pathetic,” David snarled. “Get out of the way.” He shoved Stephen aside and drew back his fist.

It caught Jai in the cheek and sent him careening back in Tarik’s arms. The eldest immediately let him fall, his head cracking against the black and white
checkered flooring. As the kicks and punches rained down on his body, Jai sent his mind to another place, to a sparkling ocean and sandy beach where no

one else was around, where he could feel no pain and no torment. It was his place whenever the abuse got violent.

“Enough!” Jai heard Tarik growl through the ringing in his ears. He eased open his right eye since his left was swelling shut and saw Tarik nodding at his
mother as he wiped blood from his knuckles. “Father will be angry if we go too far.”

Jai tensed with hope – hope that it was over – and he rolled a little, catching Stephen’s eye. The young boy blanched and turned to his mother. “I think
Tarik’s right, mom.”

In response Nicki shoved Stephen towards the door. “Get out,” she snapped. “All of you. Out.”

As soon as the boys left, Nicki glanced back at Jai. Her lip curled in disgust as she strode carefully towards him. “Is that what you think, boy? You think
Luca actually cares if you live or die?” She bent down beside him, her face so close he could feel the touch of her Irish breath on his face. “He doesn’t.”

Think of the beach, he pleaded to himself, the agony of those words still cutting him despite all the walls he’d tried to build up against his father’s hatred.

“All he cares about is his honor,” Nicki continued. “If it weren’t for that, you wouldn’t be here. You remember that, boy. You remember that always.”

Tears of anger glistened in her eyes as she leaned close enough to show him the torment in them. “The only thing of any value a person can have in this

world is hope. Hope lifts us out of the darkest of places, the ugliest feelings and the greatest heartbreaks.

A long time ago… Luca was my hope. I would look at him and all my sadness went away because I had my hope
—
the profound knowledge that he would

always be there for me, that we would always share the kind of connection so few people in this world are lucky to find.

And then your mother broke Luca. She slithered inside him and she stole from him. From me. And still I hoped.” Tears began to roll down her pretty face.

“I hoped that we would make it through what she had done to us, that we could repair what was broken. Until… you landed on my doorstep. A constant

reminder of what she had done. And as long as you live I will never have hope again, no hope of ever recovering what was lost.” She brushed hastily at her
tears and growled into his ear. “And so I will take what you have taken from me, boy. I will be your constant reminder that there is no hope for you. There
will never be anyone who could love you. Not true, deep, abiding love, because I will make it so you are so broken, so unloved, that you’re incapable of
connecting with it. You’ll be forever unloveable.” She pinched his arm and Jai squeezed his eye shut along with the swollen one. Although his body ached
with the beating he took, it was nothing compared to the cutting, ripping feeling that was tearing apart his chest and causing tears to fall when they never
had before. “Yes,” she whispered in satisfaction. “No one will ever love you. No one. How could they, when even the beings that brought you into this world
cannot.”

… Jai shuddered from the memory and turned to gaze at Ari, completely forgetting where they were. Feeling his gaze, she looked back at him in surprise and

whatever she saw in his expression turned her ever-changing eye color dark with sadness.

I love you
, she whispered in his mind.
I know you’re mad… but I love you.

Despite what Nicki had tried to do, despite how much she had taken from him, Ari stil loved him. And best of al, she seemed to understand that even though he couldn’t say the words back to her just yet, it didn’t mean he didn’t care about her, that he wasn’t struggling with his past in the hopes of having a future with her. Ari loved him without expecting anything in return. And although that scared the hel out of him, and he didn’t want to hurt her or be hurt by her, Jai was going to see this through. He was going to be there for her. No matter what.

I’m not mad,
he promised.
We’ll work it out. Together.

She smiled slowly, the tension seeming to leak from her body and the fact that he had that kind of effect on her made Jai feel a lot euphoric and a little scared shitless.

A throat clearing broke their gaze. Michael Roe was staring at them with narrowed eyes from his perch on his huge library desk. They were in his office in his home in Burlington, New Jersey, surrounded by tradition. The room was richly appointed in expensive walnut flooring, doors, desk, bookshelves. The bookshelves were crammed with leather-bound books and colector’s items. A Persian rug lay under foot, and a top-of-the-line computer was perched on the desk. A locked display cabinet held some ancient looking weapons in them that drew Jai’s interest. He reminded himself to ask about them later.

Indeed the whole room screamed money, and Jai remembered from his own enquiries into the Roe Guild before they joined them in Phoenix that the families had

invested their money into a number of successful restaurants, bakeries and even a movie theater. They paid other people to manage their businesses while they took the money and used it to fund The Guild hunting.

“Are you alright, Mr. Bitar?” Michael asked curiously.

Jai nodded, unleashing the ful force of his energy into the room. He may be distracted by Ari but they stil needed to know that he was powerful. And that he was her guardian. And he would do whatever it took to make her happy. They had to be intimidated by him in case they decided to neglectfuly abuse their position as a sanctum. “Eager to see Ari settled, Michael. And please… cal me Jai.”

An unexpected feeling
of pride rushed through Ari at the way Jai handled the situation. It was mingled with relief. And… yeah… lust. She couldn’t help herself. He made her skin tingle even in the most dire of situations. Ari smiled and then shot a look at Charlie who had arrived at the Roe’s before them. He was sitting beside Falon at the fireplace in Michael Roe’s office. Charlie gave her a nod, and Falon winked at her, seeming happy to have them back.

“The Red King has informed me that you wish to seek sanctuary with the Roe Guild. Correct?” Michael asked Ari, drawing her attention back to him.

“Yes, sir.”

“Despite his Royal Highness’ threats to kil any one of my Guild who betrays your existence here and indeed your secret, I am more than happy to welcome you.

Both of you. A Ginnaye with your reputation, Jai, is always welcome. And Ari, despite it being dangerous to harbor you, what kind of Guild could we cal ourselves if we turned away someone in need and indeed the chalenge. However.” Michael frowned, standing up off the desk and surprising Ari with his height. He was almost as tal as Jai. And despite being a little over middle-aged, he was ripped; kind of intimidatingly strong and authoritative actualy. “The Red King has insisted that you be alowed to hunt. That is a concession I find hard to make. You’ve been in control of your powers for only a few months. You’re not trained. You’re inexperienced and inexperience can be dangerous.”

A fist squeezed around Ari’s ribcage in panic at the direction this conversation was taking. She needed to hunt. She couldn’t just sit around al day waiting for the bad guys to come and get her. She needed to be the one pursuing them or she’d go nuts. “I understand your reluctance,” she began, staying as calm as she could. “But I’m a fast learner. I’ve already started training with Jai and Falon, and I’m sure they’d both tel you how far I’ve come in such a short time.”

Falon’s father nodded back at her with a smal smile. “I appreciate your eagerness, Ari. I admire it. I do. And yes, my daughter has told me how impressed she is with you, but, and I don’t intend this to be calous, you weren’t even able to protect yourself from being kidnapped. How can I expect you to hunt?”

Ari winced, not realy seeing how she could reply to that with any dignity.

“I’ve been training since infancy.” Jai stepped forward, surprising her and Michael. His green eyes glittered with strength and truth. “And even I was taken by surprise by the Harmal concoction utilized to drug Ari.” He shot her a glance, his expression serious and professional, betraying none of his feelings for her. “I’ve worked with a lot of Jinn over the years and I promise you, I’ve never seen better potential than Ari. She’s been through more than most and she’s not running. She’s here, standing strong and ready to fight. That’s the kind of hunter any Guild would dream of having.”

The room grew hushed at his declaration and Ari had to squeeze back the tears of emotion that pooled in her eyes in case it ruined the effect Jai had just tried to create around her. She drew in a deep breath and gave him a grateful smile. He was getting a big kiss for that later.

Michael Roe was looking at her again, studying her more carefuly than before. “Maybe in a few years.”

Ari scowled. “Mr. Roe, no offence, but I can’t wait a few years. Train me, watch me, and then throw me into the deep end.” She took a beseeching step forward. “I need this. You’ve been a hunter your entire life… but have you ever been the prey? And not just any prey… I’m like winning American ‘freaking’ Idol prey…

thousands of people want it. Want me. Or they wil if and when they discover what I realy am. Which I’m pretty sure they wil eventualy, or my uncle wouldn’t have hired the best Ginnaye on the planet to look after me. I know my uncle kind of high-handedly insisted that you let me hunt, but that’s because he knows I can’t be a victim any more. Do you understand?” she asked fiercely. “I can’t let them do that to me. I need to turn it on their heads. And isn’t there some crazy ass Jinn out there that you would love to stop? Permanently? Because I can do that… and apparently, according to my uncle, no one wil ever face trial for it.”

Everyone was so quiet for a moment, Ari thought maybe she’d gone too far, acted too desperately. But then Michael smiled, a huff of laughter escaping his lips as he eyed her a little differently than before. “Fine.” He nodded. “I might regret it later, but you’ve won me over. You’l be put to training immediately while Charlie continues his training with Jack.”