Scorched Skies (49 page)

Yes?

Lilif? Was Asmodeus her brother?

Her twin,
Jai answered, turning slightly to catch her eye.
How did you...?

Her breath left her.
I
’
ve been dreaming about him too.

Jai
’
s eyes narrowed.
Well that can
’
t be good.

No. I thought Lilif was an Ifrit. Asmodeus is a Marid, right?

Right,
Jai agreed.
They
’
re like the Jinn version of fraternal twins. They
’
re also ancient, mysterious and not to be messed with. We have to find out why you
’
re dreaming
—

“Young people,” Asmodeus suddenly said, drawing their attention back to him. “Don
’
t they know it
’
s rude to have a conversation behind someone
’
s back?”

“Well.” The Red King strode forward, putting himself between them and Asmodeus. “Thank you for the welcome, Asmodeus. I
’
ll take our guests to my quarters now.”

With a cocked eyebrow, Asmodeus stepped back from the doorway and gestured as if to say
‘
you
’
re free to leave.
’

Following The Red King out of the door Ari couldn
’
t help but chance a glance up at Azazil
’
s famed first lieutenant. He was even taller than The Red King. As her eyes flickered over him they caught on the sight of a ring hanging from leather rope around his neck. Her gaze flew to his face in surprise. He wore a replica of the Seal around his neck so others would think he still protected it. His cold look crawled over Ari like frozen little spiders and she unconsciously grabbed Jai
’
s hand as the door closed behind them. Her guardian pulled her closer.

Red was silent as he led them through the chilling corridors of the palace. Finally, after a few minutes of walking he said, “You will stay by Ari
’
s side the entire time we
’
re here, Jai, do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“And Ari.” Red spun around bringing them to a halt. His face was hard and colder than Ari had ever seen it. “If you find yourself alone with Asmodeus, and by alone I mean even if Jai is with you, you call on me. Do you understand?”

“He
’
s dangerous?”

Red nodded. “He has an interest in you and I don
’
t know why. Until I do, we
’
re keeping you away from him.”

Goosebumps rose on her arms and Jai slid a hand around her back, drawing her into his side. She smiled weakly but gratefully. Too much was happening.

“When does Charlie
’
s trial start?” she asked as they started walking again, this time the nearness of Jai
’
s body keeping her nervous jitters at bay.

“Tomorrow,” Red responded sharply. “Gleaming will be leading it but because of your involvement Azazil will be overseeing it. Tomorrow is a dangerous day for you too, Ari. Charlie may or may not be sentenced for his crime, but you,” he shot her a concerned look, “you will be laid bare for all to see. Azazil has forbidden The Gleaming King from mentioning your true importance. In the case of this trial you are The White King
’
s hybrid and Dalí sought to use your blood to power his talismans. It
’
s something some sorcerers do with virgin blood.”

She blushed at that.

“But there have always been rumors and speculation about the legend of a daughter born to Sala the Lilif and The White King. Some will seek to find out the truth. You
’
re leaving yourself open to more enemies.”

Fear was desperate to take control of her, so Ari concentrated on the thought of Charlie and where he was right now and what was happening to him. The fear suddenly dissipated as that knot within her chest pulsed and tightened, separating itself from her, pushing her out, taking control. The emotions from it flooded her and Ari fought to brush it off. She took deep breaths, feeling Jai
’
s hand pressed harder against her back. Back in control, Ari still felt tendrils of the darkness the knot had tried to pollute her with
—
the fury and disgust that anyone would try to push her around. Ari braced her shoulders, her eyes blazing with more determination than she knew she had.

“Lilif herself could come back from the dead to hunt me down, and it still wouldn
’
t stop me from saving Charlie.”

The Red King stiffened at the mention of his mother and he eyed Ari carefully, warily even. Finally he nodded. “Then so be it.”

To be continued…

….the story continues in
‘
Borrowed Ember (Fire Spirits #3)
’
. Coming Summer 2012!

Acknowledgments

A huge thank you to my mum and friends - my wonderfully honest and helpful beta readers. Not only am I thankful for your critique but for your never -ending understanding and support, even when I drop off the face of the planet and into my characters
’
worlds for weeks on end. A massive thank you also to Ashley McConnell and Alicia Cannon at Ashley
’
s Freelance Editing for their amazingly hard work polishing up
Scorched Skies
and catching the handful of weird Britishisms that would have left many of my readers bemused. You are fantastic! And thank you to Claudia McKinney at Phatpuppy Art for never failing to amaze me with your talent and beautiful cover art. Charlie looks phenomenal on the front cover of
Scorched Skies
! Much love.

Here
’
s a gigantic smiley face -
J
- and thank you to all the wonderful book bloggers and amazing followers who support me on a daily basis. I love you guys!

Finally I
’
d like to thank you, my reader. You are wonderful and so appreciated. I hope your adventure with the Jinn was a good one!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born and raised in Stirlingshire, Scotland, Samantha Young has been dreaming of other worlds and realms since she first picked up a certain classic novel by C.S. Lewis when she was seven years old. It was only after graduating from the University of Edinburgh in 2009 that Samantha decided to pursue her writing career. Currently, she is the author of nine novels and one novella.

To enter Samantha
’
s world of paranormal and fantasy adventure visit her blog/website at http://www.samanthayoungbooks.com

An excerpt from

Fairy Metal Thunder

(Songs of Magic, Book 1)

by J. L. Bryan

from
Chapter Four

(Jason is a seventeen-year-old boy from the small town of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, currently stuck at home babysitting his six-year-old sister Katie and trying to write a song for the girl he likes, Erin.  There has been a rash of mysterious jewelry thefts around town...)

Saturday night, Jason sat at home in his living room, his guitar in his lap, trying to pick out the music for “Angel Sky,” the song he'd written for Erin.  He was having trouble getting the music and lyrics to flow together. 

His mother had dragged his father to a collectible ceramics convention in Minneapolis, an hour away, and they still weren't back.

“Jason?” Katie asked.  His little sister stood in the doorway of the living room in her Bert and Ernie pajamas.

“What is it, Katie?”

“Um...” She fidgeted, looking nervous.

“What's wrong?  You should be sleeping.”

“I know, but...there's a monster.”

Jason sighed and put his guitar down. “Did you have a bad dream?”

“It's not a dream!  I saw it go into Mom and Dad's room.”

“If it's not in your room, you don't have anything to worry about.”

“But I could be next!”  Katie looked terrified.

“You're completely safe, Katie.  There's no monster.”

“Is too!”

“Okay.” Jason stood up and stretched. “Let's go check it out.  I
’
ll show you there's nothing to be scared of.”

“Thanks, Jason.” She took his hand as he walked toward the steps, something she hadn't done in a couple of years.  She really was frightened.

They walked upstairs and to the end of the short hall in their split-level house.  Katie stayed back, clinging to the frame of her bedroom door, while Jason approached the master bedroom.

“See, Katie?” he said. “Mom and Dad
’
s door is still closed.  How could a monster get into their room?”

“He just went puff,” Katie said.

“He went puff, huh?” Jason said.  He had no idea what that meant, but Katie had a very busy imagination.

Jason pushed open the door to his parents' room and glanced inside. “See, Katie, there's no....”

But Jason
had
seen something.  He looked again.

There it was
—
a small creature, about two feet high, standing on his parents' dresser.  It looked like a tiny person, dressed in a ratty, dirty wool overcoat, with a woolen cap pulled low over its eyes.  Its pudgy green hands pawed through his mother's jewelry box.  Jason watched the creature drop a pair of ruby earrings into a pocket of its coat.

“Hey!” Jason said.

The little creature jumped and spun around to face him.  Its face was green and ugly, with an underbite, its eyes big and yellow under the low bill of the cap.

“What are you?” Jason asked.

The thing growled a little, then disappeared in a puff of green smoke. It reappeared in the space in front of the dresser, near the bottom drawer, and landed on its feet, which were clad in small, badly cracked leather shoes.  It ran across the carpet to the window.  It disappeared in another green puff, then reappeared standing on the windowsill.

“Stop!” Jason yelled. “Give that back!”

The little creature stuck out its dark green tongue at Jason, then disappeared with another puff of smoke.  It reappeared on the little ledge outside the window, waved at Jason with a smile full of yellow, crooked teeth, and then hopped out of sight.