“Are you really arrogant enough to believe we can win against Azazil and my brothers? Not to mention your brother?”
“Having doubts, my love?” She smirked at him but inside felt a prickle of hurt at his lack of belief in her.
“No. But if what Red told me is true about you attempting to maim Glass, you couldn’t withstand a fight with the two of them. You couldn’t withstand a fight with Azazil.”
“I’m stronger now, thanks to your father. I have within me the power of the Seal. We just need in and then I can command Azazil and your brothers to their knees.” She sighed heavily and gazed back up at the darkening sky. “However, you are right. First we need to get in.
We need more power.”
“You have some of the most powerful Marids in existence in this army, including many lesser Royals you’ve commanded obeisance from, many of whom will be mortified to discover they were part of their Sultan’s downfall when this is over.”
“I don’t remember you being this taxing.” Lilif shot her son an irritated look. She then turned to stare at the Jinn who were guiding their natural magic to pulse against the barrier. Sparks of ember floated all around them. And yet, it wasn’t enough. They needed more …they needed …
Lilif shot a look at White. There was one lesser Royal who wasn’t there with them. One lesser Royal who, although brand new, Lilif knew from personal experience was exceptionally powerful in her own right. The thought quickly gained speed and Lilif decided she liked the idea greatly. The girl was strong and spirited and Lilif had a genuine liking for her. It would be a mark of great pride if she could talk the girl into joining her. She gestured to the army with a triumphant smile twitching her pretty lips. “Let them rest until I return.”
White frowned. “Off to find more recruits?”
She shook her head. “Just one.”
As White watched his mother leave, an unwelcome feeling settled over him as he deduced who she was going after. He wouldn’t call that feeling guilt … no, not quite. But whatever it was, he found himself using more of his energy to yell a warning Red’s way.
***
Ari was not going to lie. An assignment in a creepy graveyard wasn’t really doing it for her. She’d faced some of the most dangerous beings on the planet, and yet the graveyard freaked her out. The creaking trees, the low winter sun through their gnarled branches, the soft wind whistling unintelligible words that every now and then actually sounded like her name.
Where the hell was this Edimmu?
“A Guild Hunter on her lonesome?”
Ari spun around at the hoarse voice.
Her eyebrows rose at the sight of the Jinn lying atop a large tombstone.
Smaller than the average man, the Utukku was positioned rather casually, one knee bent, elbow cocked to support his head as he grinned at her with black, razor-sharp teeth held in place by pink and black gums. His limbs were long and thin and he had a scaly, muddy green, skin that contrasted sharply with his blinking, wide yellow eyes and the baby-fine blond hair on his head. “I am Mirza the Great.” He studied his long, sharp black fingernails as if bored.
Keeping in mind Jai’s advice not to play around with this little creep, Ari concentrated on the curse Trey and Jai had been helping her work on. It was deadly, meant to be used when a weapon or defensive magic was a nonissue. It was all about channeling her natural magic and using it to change small elements of the reality around her. This kind of magic was called a curse for a reason—it messed with the balance in the tiniest ways. Ari hadn’t liked the sound of that but, as Jai so logically pointed out, killing with a knife or gun messed with the balance too.
Mirza had only a second to sense the strong build-up of power before Ari let it loose and guided it to her target. She felt it make contact with Mirza. The Utukku froze as though someone had hit his pause button. Narrowing her eyes and feeling the magic tug a little unpleasantly, Ari forced it to finish the job, watching with a sick feeling as black cracks appeared all over the Utukku’s body, widening incrementally until, at last, they exploded into shimmering black dust.
Exhausted, Ari immediately drew the magic back inside of her, wiping a shaking hand across her sweaty forehead. She felt a dark hollowness inside, just as she’d felt when she’d killed the Qarin.
The Utukku was her second kill, and it hadn’t been any easier. Truthfully, she’d be worried if the day ever came when it was.
An awesome wave of power hit Ari in the back causing her to stumble, and she whirled around, her subconscious telling her it was Asmodeus. His energy was almost as crazy impactful as Azazil’s and the Jinn kings, but not quite.
But it wasn’t Asmodeus who made her knees buckle and her heart jump into her throat.
Lilif.
The ancient being stood before her looking no more than a few years older than Ari. Long, dark curls fell down her back, shining in the early winter sun. She’d forgone modern dress and had styled herself in the sexy, Greek goddess look she apparently favored.
Now that Ari had time to study her energy, it was so clear it wasn’t Asmodeus’s. Lilif’s energy was off. It pulsed in frantic, defragmented waves of emotions that suggested the Jinn was one cuckoo short of a nest. As if Ari didn’t know that already.
Lilif took a tentative step toward Ari, her hand held up in petition. “Before you say anything, let me speak.” Her voice was surprisingly soft, as was her gaze.
Ari stared at her silently, her head telling her to disappear into the Peripatos before her curiosity got the better of her.
“I’ve been inside you, Ari. I’ve lived in this world through you. I’ve seen it the way you see it. I’ve tried to understand why you’d want to save it. I have. I promise. And in the end, I realized that we are not so different.”
“We’re not?” Ari asked incredulously, surprised she’d finally found her voice.
Lilif shook her head, her curls bouncing around her shoulders. “We’re not really a part of the world. The world to us, our world, happens to be the people we love. They are our world. For you, it is Jai. For me, it is my Jinn, my equals.” Her eyes narrowed, darkened by her thoughts. “The Jinn should never have become mixed up in human business.
It was disastrous for us. It is disastrous for us. Look at you and that boy Charlie. What a mess he made of things for you. And yet still you saved him. Just like I saved thousands of humans in wars that killed my people.”
Bitterness sharpened her features. “Humans have raped and plundered their earth, their arrogance proclaiming superiority over all other creatures. It is time to show them the truth: we are the superior beings and we are going to undo their mar upon this world.”
Ari had no words. What could you say in the face of irrational insanity?
“Don’t look at me that way, Ari. I know you understand my pain. I know you’ve seen my memories and how much I’ve lost. I also know you’re kind and compassionate and loyal. I am not so cruel that I do not admire those characteristics. Especially in a friend. I could use a friend like you, Ari. And I promise that if you come to me, if you stand by my side and help me take down Azazil and my sons, I will protect you and your Jai. I will lead you into The After.”
Trembling, Ari took a step back, preparing to leave. “It’s never going to happen. Never.”
“Ari—”
“Go—” Before Ari could say another word, her stomach dropped as she was lifted with invisible hands and thrown through the air. She crashed against the nearest tree, the wind knocked out of her upon impact. Her arms were spread-eagled and pinned in place. She struggled against Lilif’s hold as the Jinn casually strolled toward her, her chin tilted so she could meet Ari’s gaze.
Frustration and fear of being under Lilif’s command tore through Ari in a scream, and she smashed through Lilif’s hold on her left arm before beginning work on her right.
“Impressive,” Lilif murmured.
“Exactly why I need you. I’m guessin—” She tut-tutted as Ari worked her righ
t fingers loose. “Stop that, Ari.”
“Bite me, you evil succubus,” Ari growled and sent a bolt of ember out of her left hand against her right wrist.
She dropped to the ground, rolling as Jai had trained her to do. As she came back up, she sent a wave of defensive magic toward Lilif, only to have the viper blast it back and knock Ari off her feet before she could summon the Peripatos.
The wind blew harder around them as Lilif’s dark eyes sparked with a terrible fire. “I command you, Ari Johnson. I command you to my army.” She came to a triumphant stop at Ari’s feet and stared down at her haughtily.
For a moment Ari just stared up at her, waiting for the compulsion to seize her. It didn’t.
What the …
Of course.
When Asmodeus tried to force a kiss from her using the power of the Seal, it hadn’t worked.
He took hold of her left arm in a bruising grip, pulling her body into his. “How is it possible?” he breathed angrily. “How can you withstand the command of the Seal?”
“Maybe the same way you can,” she countered aggressively, hating him in that moment and longing to be far, far away from him. She longed to be near Jai’s comforting, protective presence.
“You had the Seal around your neck for centuries and I had it inside me for eighteen years. Go figure.”
She and Asmodeus were immune to it.
Eyes bright with newfound hope, Ari rose to her feet to gaze up into Lilif’s smug face. Summoning the Peripatos and feeling somewhat smug herself, Ari curled her lip in derision as the flames surrounded her. “Rot in hell.”
Lilif’s piercing scream caused her to flinch as her lightning-quick hand wrenched Ari out of the Peripatos.
Fear gripped her. She’d never encountered anyone who could move that quickly.
Lilif curled her fingers around Ari’s throat and pulled her close. “Not so fast, granddaughter.”
***
“You cannot leave,” Azazil shook his head at Red.
“If Lilif goes after Ari, she might be able to use her to break the protection spell around the palace.”
“Exactly,” Red growled. “Which is why I have to help her.”
Six of the Jinn kings, Azazil, and Asmodeus were gathered in Azazil’s favorite parlor. Azazil was back to his full strength and back to making absolutely no sense.
Asmodeus crossed his arms over his chest. His mood had been black for days, and Red could only guess Lilif’s return was pricking some very painful memories for her twin. “Why do I get the feeling that you are enjoying this, Your Highness?”